Drug comparison: Kaletra and Saquinavir/Ritonavir

Source: AIDSMAP, HIV WEEKLY

Kaletra (lopinavir boosted by a small amount of ritonavir) is a powerful anti-HIV drug that is one of the drugs recommended for use in combination with other anti-HIV drugs by people starting anti-HIV treatment for the first time.

A new study shows that saquinavir (Invirase) boosted by ritonavir is just as effective in initial drug combinations. Equal numbers of patients (about 70%) taking Kaletra and saquinavir/ritonavir had an undetectable viral load after a year.

Protease inhibitors are associated with tummy problems, particularly diarrhoea. Doctors found that 17% of people taking saquinavir/ritonavir had diarrhoea compared to over a quarter of those taking Kaletra. Another side-effect caused by many protease inhibitors is an increase in blood fats, particularly ‘bad’ LDL cholesterol which can be a risk factor for heart disease. Researchers found that 34% of people taking saquinavir/ritonavir had high levels of LDL cholesterol compared to just over a quarter of those taking Kaletra.

Reference

Walmsley S et al. Saquinavir/r (SQV/r) BiD versus lopinavir/r (LPV/r) BiD, plus emtricitabine/tenofovir (FTC/TDF) QD as initial therapy in HIV-1 infected patients: the GEMINI study. Eleventh European AIDS Copnference, Madrid. Abstract PS1/4. 2007.