New HIV pill will be out soon

The pill is a cocktail of three popular drugs.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- People infected with the virus that causes AIDS will soon be able to take a once-a-day pill that combines three drugs in a cocktail therapy that can be swallowed in a single dose.
The pill, called Atripla, includes three Food and Drug Administration-approved medicines that already form one of the most widely prescribed treatments for HIV and AIDS. The FDA approved the combination version Wednesday.
The medicine will still be expensive: more than $1,100 for a month's supply.
Atripla can replace the two or more pills HIV-positive patients now must take each day to keep the human immunodeficiency virus in check, making it simpler to stick to a treatment regimen. The new pill is expected to be available within seven business days.
"As a physician, I know -- whether in dealing with cancer or dealing with infection -- that's an opportunity to significantly improve compliance. And compliance with therapy is as important as the therapy itself for a successful outcome," said Dr. Andrew von Eschenbach, the FDA's acting commissioner.
Ultimate benefit
If the single pill does help patients stick to their pill-taking regimen, that in turn could slow the emergence -- and ultimately, transmission -- of drug-resistant strains of the virus. Those strains can evolve when patients take less than 95 percent of their pills, said John Martin, head of Gilead Sciences Inc., the manufacturer of two of the drugs in Atripla.
"The fewer pills, the better they are able to achieve that 95 percent threshold," Martin said.
Atripla won't do away with the multiple other drugs that AIDS patients often must take to fend off infections and other complications of their weakened immune systems, said Frank Oldham Jr., executive director of the National Association of People with AIDS. And some patients will have to take other HIV drugs along with Atripla to combat the virus effectively.
Atripla combines Viread (tenofovir), Emtriva (emtricitabine) and Sustiva (efavirenz). Viread and Emtriva, both made by Gilead of Foster City, Calif., are now sold in combination under the brand name Truvada. Sustiva is made by New York-based Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.
The pill will be just as expensive as Truvada and Sustiva when bought separately: The wholesale price will be $1,150 for a 30-day supply. Switching to the combo pill would require insured patients to make just one, rather than two, co-payments, saving some money.
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