Boosted Atazanavir: Levels Look OK During Pregnancy

Clearing a drug for use during pregnancy requires establishing not only fetal safety but also maternal efficacy: Will the drug still attain therapeutic levels during all the hemodynamic changes that accompany pregnancy?

Because significant reductions in the levels of some PIs have been seen during the third trimester, researchers in Italy studied the pharmacokinetics of ritonavir-boosted atazanavir among 17 HIV-infected women at the end of pregnancy and after delivery.

Most pharmacokinetic parameters (including mean area under the curve, mean C_max, mean C_trough, and mean T_1/2) were slightly but not significantly lower during the third trimester than after delivery; mean T_max was slightly but not significantly higher. C_trough levels were consi…