The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a new, liquid formulation of Prezista.  The new formulation will be available for children aged three to six years old as well as children or adults who cannot swallow Prezista pills.

Previously, Prezista was only approved for children six years old or older and came only in a tablet form. Prezista is still not approved for children under three years old due to possible toxicity in children this young.

The new…

Gilead Applies For Approval For Truvada As An HIV-Prevention Drug – Gilead Sciences has applied for approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to market Truvada (emtricitabine/tenofovir) for the prevention of HIV infection. The application is based on studies showing that taking Truvada once a day helped reduce the rate of new HIV infections in high-risk populations, such as men who have sex with men, by about 70 to 90 percent when taken regularly (see related…

Norvir Prescribing Information Updated To Include Risk Of Life-Threatening Skin Condition – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved updated prescribing information for Norvir (ritonavir) to warn of the possibility of toxic epidermal necrolysis, a rare, life-threatening reaction to medications in which the top layer of skin detaches from the bottom layer and dies. The new prescribing information also notes that when Norvir is taken with the cancer drugs Tasigna (nilotinib) or Sprycel (dasatinib), used to…

The Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida, announced yesterday that it will begin offering kidney and pancreas transplants to HIV-positive patients with end-stage kidney disease and diabetes.

To be eligible, patients must have undetectable viral loads (amount of HIV in the blood) and CD4 (white blood cell) counts above 200 cells per microliter.

“With the utilization of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) to control HIV disease, it is very clear that solid organ transplant is both feasible and successful [in people…

President Obama Allocates An Additional $35 Million Toward ADAPs – In a speech on December 1, World AIDS Day, President Obama announced that the federal government will contribute an additional $35 million to state AIDS Drug Assistance Programs (ADAPs). The programs, which provide free antiretrovirals to low-income people with HIV, have faced budget shortfalls due to the economic crisis, forcing many states to tighten eligibility requirements and implement waiting lists. President Obama also allocated an additional $15 million toward HIV…