Heat-Stable Ritonavir Tablet Now Available

The long-awaited heat-stable formulation of ritonavir (a 100-mg tablet) has finally arrived, approved by the FDA on February 10, 2010. In developed countries, the requirement that ritonavir capsules be maintained at temperatures below 77°F has mainly been an annoyance — but in resource-limited settings, where a reliable “cold chain” is sometimes difficult to maintain, this need has hindered the use of boosted PIs, with the exception of coformulated lopinavir/ritonavir. The new tablet formulation apparently increases C_max by an average of 26%; whether this difference in bioavailability will influence tolerability is unknown, but some of the side effects of ritonavir are dose related. The ritonavir tablet is expected in pharmacies within the …