How do TB drugs interact with HIV drugs?
How do TB drugs interact with HIV drugs? – In January, 2012, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued new guidelines on dosing of an HIV medication used to treat people infected with both HIV and tuberculosis (TB) because of a potential interaction between two of the main drugs used to treat each disease. The drug rifampin, used for treating TB, can lower levels of the HIV medicine efavirenz, so the FDA recommended that patients who weigh more than 50 kg (110 pounds) and who are taking both medications should get 30 percent larger doses of efavirenz (an increase from 600 mg to 800 mg). Now, a new analysis by conducted by researchers with the Adult AIDS Clinical Trials Group (ACTG) at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) and the San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center (SFGH) suggests this recommended dose adjustment may not be necessary, particularly in non-Caucasian populations. As described in a talk at the XIX International AIDS Conference in Washington, DC on Monday, July 23, 2012, the new FDA guidelines were based on several small studies in European TB patients and one in healthy volunteers, indicating a decrease in efavirenz levels with rifampin. The guidelines were also informed by a mathematical model, which showed that increasing efavirenz to 800 mg when given with rifampin would increase levels to those seen on the regular dose of 600 mg. These data may not apply to patients in African and Asian populations because of genetic differences that lead to higher efavirenz levels …
Antibody drug maker KaloBios seeks million in IPO
Filed under: San Francisco Drug Treatment
… which has a partner in Sanofi for treating pneumonia in mechanically ventilated patients. KaloBios retains the rights to a cystic fibrosis program using the drug, though Sano still can opt in to that program as well. Its other drugs are mid-stage …
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FDA approves new use for Genentech arthritis drug
Filed under: San Francisco Drug Treatment
The drug was already approved for systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis. "People with moderately to severely active RA can suffer irreversible joint damage that may be prevented by earlier treatment with a biologic medicine such as Actemra," Genentech …
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BioCryst buying California drug developer
Filed under: San Francisco Drug Treatment
BioCryst announced Thursday it will buy San Francisco-based Presidio Pharmaceuticals in a $ 101 million stock deal that will pair the developers into a “real company” with drugs on the market, said BioCryst CEO Jon Stonehouse. “We have a number of shots …
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