Low-strength Kaletra tablets launched for children infected with HIV
Children prescribed lopinavir/ritonavir (Kaletra) to treat HIV could find it easier to take their medicines with the launch of a low-strength Kaletra film-coated tablet (100mg/25mg).
Deepak Patel, specialist paediatric HIV pharmacist at St Mary’s
Hospital, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, London, told The
Journal that the new product “will
make a big difference” for certain paediatric patients.
“We have been waiting for its approval all year,” he said. “It
will allow children who have been through ‘pill-school’ — pill
swallowing counselling — to switch away from bitter-tasting Kaletra
liquid, which can alter sense of taste and put kids off their food,” he
pointed out. Mr Patel explained that the poor palatability of the liquid
formulation was due to its ritonavir component.
“Kaletra liquid also has very high alcohol content — 42 per
cent,” he
added.
Tenofovir for
hepatitis B Antiretroviral medicine tenofovir disoproxil
has had
its licence extended to include treatment of hepatitis B.
The medicine is indicated for the treatment of chronic hepatitis B in adults
with compensated liver disease, with evidence of active viral replication,
persistently elevated serum alanine aminotransferase levels and histological
evidence of active
inflammation or fibrosis.
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