The companies that make the HIV protease inhibitor Prezista and the experimental HIV boosting drug cobicistat are developing a new once-a-day pill that includes both. This could eventually replace the need for taking a Norvir pill along with every dose of Prezista to simplify dosing.
Cobicistat is a boosting drug that raises the blood level of certain HIV drugs, although it doesn’t directly affect the virus on its own. This contrasts with the current low-dose booster Norvir — an HIV protease inhibitor originally developed in the mid-90s as a full-dose medicine.
Before this new combo pill becomes reality, the FDA must first approve cobicistat as an effective boosting drug on its own. It’s currently in clinical study and final results of its safety and effectiveness won’t be known until 2012. So far in study, it appears that cobicistat may be as effective as Norvir but with fewer side effects.
Should a Prezista + cobicistat pill be developed, it may pave the way for other boosted protease inhibitors to be combined into their own single-pill formulations, such as Reyataz or Lexiva. Any of these new pills would offer people living with HIV fewer pills to take every day.
The same companies are also working on another full regimen in a combo pill, similar to Atripla. That pill combines Prezista + cobicistat + Emtriva + GS7340, an experimental NRTI.