- INVIRASE: Power You Can Handle
- How Boosted INVIRASE Works
- Patient Assistance Program
- Patient Information and Safety
INVIRASE: Power You Can Handle
[ Is the Power of INVIRASE a Treatment Option for You? ] [ The Power You Need from an HIV Med ]
[ Generally Well Tolerated ] [ A Routine You Can Live With ] [ Your Long Term Treatment Goals ]
[ Because you are living with HIV… ]
Is the Power of INVIRASE a Treatment Option for You?
You may want to ask about boosted INVIRASE if you are considering changing treatment options because:
- Your viral load is not undetectable or your CD4 cells (T cells) are decreasing
- You are having side effects you can’t tolerate or you simply don’t feel well on your current regimen
- You are worried about issues like high cholesterol and your heart health
- You need to treat ongoing heartburn and acid reflux disease with over-the-counter or prescription antacids that conflict with your daily HIV med schedule
The Power You Need from an HIV Med
You want certain things from an HIV med—most of all, you need it to get your viral load to undetectable and to keep it undetectable for as long as possible. You also need it to help make your immune system stronger.
- When used in combination with other HIV meds, INVIRASE may be able to get your viral load (the amount of virus in your blood) to undetectable
- In a study, more than 3 out of 4 patients (79%) taking saquinavir boosted with ritonavir and combined with other HIV meds for almost a year got their viral load to undetectable (<50 copies/mL) 1
- INVIRASE can increase your CD4 cell count—and more CD4 cells means a stronger immune system to protect you from illnesses
- INVIRASE is boosted with a low dose of ritonavir. “Boosting” with ritonavir increases the amount of INVIRASE in your blood. As with all boosted protease inhibitors, the increased levels of an HIV med may improve its anti-HIV activity 2
- Boosted INVIRASE is recommended by the International AIDS Society (IAS)- USA panel of doctors. When starting a regimen that includes a protease inhibitor, these doctors recommend boosted INVIRASE as a first choice 3
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You may think that side effects simply go hand in hand with powerful HIV meds—but HIV meds also have to be tolerable to work for you. After all, if you can’t take a med because of side effects, it can’t help you.
- INVIRASE has a low chance of stomach-related side effects , including diarrhea (8.1%)
- Stomach-related side effects: INVIRASE has a low chance of stomach-related side effects. In studies of Fortovase, the most common stomach-related side effects were nausea (10.8%), diarrhea (8.1%), vomiting (7.4%) and abdominal pain (6.1%). Compared with Fortovase, another form of saquinavir, INVIRASE appears to be “much better tolerated” in terms of stomach-related side effects, like diarrhea DHHS2
- INVIRASE has a minimal effect on lipids (cholesterol and triglycerides) and is recommended as an option for HIV+ people who are having lipid problems like high cholesterol and triglycerides 4
- In studies of saquinavir, total cholesterol levels increased by less than 10% 1
- INVIRASE has not been shown to increase levels of bilirubin in the liver. In general, protease inhibitors can affect the liver. Some can cause very high levels of bilirubin, which can cause jaundice (yellow skin or eyes). Jaundice has occurred in rare instances in persons who already have chronic liver disease and are taking regimens that include saquinavir
- One major study concluded that, after a year, patients taking saquinavir boosted with ritonavir in combination with other meds kept control over their viral load for a longer period of time compared with another boosted PI regimen (indinavir/ritonavir), most likely because more patients were able to stay on treatment due to better-tolerated side effects of boosted saquinavir 1
- INVIRASE has a record of safety supported by more than 10 years of study and experience
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You want fewer pills and a dosing schedule that fits into your life.
- 2 pills twice a day with a low dose of ritonavir in combination with other HIV meds. Like most other protease inhibitors, INVIRASE is boosted with a low dose of ritonavir—which means taking boosted INVIRASE is taking about the same number of pills as most other boosted PIs. A dose of boosted INVIRASE is 2 INVIRASE pills and 1 ritonavir pill, taken twice a day. Ritonavir is prescribed separately
- INVIRASE tablets do not need to be refrigerated. Ritonavir is prescribed separately and should be refrigerated but can be stored at room temperature for up to 30 days. 5 Always talk with your doctor about storing any medicines you are taking
- Depending on your personal schedule, you can take INVIRASE with morning and evening meals—but you have the flexibility to wait up to 2 hours after a meal to take boosted INVIRASE
- Boosted INVIRASE works with commonly used antacids —so you can treat heartburn and acid reflux as needed without changing your routine of taking INVIRASE. 6
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Your Long Term Treatment Goals
Getting control of HIV is first about getting control of your viral load and strengthening your immune system. No doubt an undetectable viral load has become the main focus of HIV treatment.
Your viral load is the amount of HIV in your blood, measured in copies/mL (about a teaspoon). The primary goal of treatment for both treatment-naïve and treatment-experienced people is an undetectable viral load. Undetectable doesn’t mean that the virus isn’t there—it means that the amount of virus is below the level of detection (less than 400 or less than 50 copies/ml, depending on the sensitivity of the viral load test performed).
Equally important is an increase in CD4 cells (T cells)—something that should happen as your viral load decreases. The more CD4 cells (per cubic millimeter), the more able your immune system is to protect you from opportunistic illnesses and infections.
But tests and numbers aren’t everything. How you feel, how you are able to manage your side effects and your quality of life are vital parts of your treatment decisions—and can also impact you and your doctor’s decision to stay on a treatment or to switch to a med that may be more tolerable and less toxic.
Finally, consideration of your personal risk for other health issues, including the health of your heart, is beginning to influence HIV treatment plans now that people are living longer. And that makes sense—because you are so much more than HIV+.
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Because you are living with HIV…
A Web site can’t give you all of the information you need about an HIV med—but it can be a part of your decision-making process. You and your doctor work together to create an HIV treatment regimen that can achieve your long-term health goals. You may choose to use this information about treatment goals and INVIRASE to help you talk with your doctor about how well your current treatment regimen is working for you, your long-term health goals, and if INVIRASE might work for you.
Starting any new HIV med can be stressful—but learning all that you can about a med may help you better manage your treatment. If your doctor has already prescribed INVIRASE for you, this Web site can help answer your questions, but you should also read the Patient Prescribing Information and talk with your doctor about any questions you have about INVIRASE or other HIV meds in your regimen.
This information does not include everything you may need to know about HIV and does not take the place of talking with your healthcare provider.
This is not all of the information available about INVIRASE. Click here for Patient Prescribing Information and Important Safety Information.
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