Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1997. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
The Associated Press; 50 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, NY 10020 - Monday, September 29, 1997; 12:05 p.m. EDT
The drug, Glaxo Wellcome's Combivir, is the first combination pill for AIDS therapy, combining two of the most common medicines, AZT and 3TC, into one tablet.
The powerful drug cocktails that help people fight the HIV virus often require patients to take as many as 20 pills a day at precise times. Combivir would let patients take two tablets a day instead of the up to eight pills required when taking AZT and 3TC separately, the FDA said.
Whether taken separately or alone, the drugs can cause such side effects as nausea, diarrhea and anemia.
Studies have shown that the more pills someone takes, especially when they must be swallowed at different times of the day, the less likely the patient is to take all the doses. Improper use of AIDS medications allows the HIV virus to mutate so that many drugs no longer work.
AZT and 3TC are members of the oldest class of AIDS medicines, called nucleoside analogues. Two nucleoside analogues are typically combined with a more powerful medicine -- from a class called protease inhibitors -- into a three-drug cocktail. But many AIDS patients have become resistant to AZT treatment, so scientists are working to combine other AIDS medicines, including protease inhibitors, into single pills.
Glaxo said Combivir's wholesale price is about $5,240 a year, equivalent to AZT and 3TC taken separately. It will be in drug stores by mid-October.
Copyright 1997/The Associated Press. Reproduced with permission. Reproduction of this article (other than one copy for personal reference) must be cleared through the Permissions Desk, The Associated Press, 50 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, NY 10020.
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