Boceprevir and HIV PIs: Drug-Interaction Study Published

In February 2012, the FDA issued a Drug Safety Communication after a drug-interaction study showed that the hepatitis C virus protease inhibitor (PI) boceprevir lowered levels of commonly used HIV PIs. The FDA subsequently revised the boceprevir label to recommend against the coadministration of boceprevir with these HIV drugs. Now, investigators at Merck — the company that makes boceprevir — have published the results of this drug-interaction study.

Thirty-nine healthy adults received boceprevir alone for 6 days, followed by a ritonavir-boosted PI (atazanavir, lopinavir, or darunavir) alone between days 10 and 24, and then boceprevir plus the ritonavir-boosted PI between days 25 and 31. Drug exposure was measured in several ways, including …