Viropil

Viropil Uses, Dosage, Side Effects, Food Interaction and all others data.

Dolutegravir is a HIV-1 intergrase inhibitor that blocks the strand transfer step of the integration of the viral genome into the host cell (INSTI). The effect of this drug has no homology in human host cells which gives it an excellent tolerability and minimal toxicity. Dolutegravir was developed by ViiV Healthcare and FDA approved on August 12, 2013. On November 21, 2017, dolutegravir, in combination with rilpivirine, was approved as part of the first complete treatment regimen with only two drugs for the treatment of adults with HIV-1 named Juluca.

HIV-1 infected subjects on dolutegravir monotherapy demonstrated rapid and dose-dependent reduction of antiviral activity with declines of HIV-1 RNA copies per ml. The antiviral response was maintained for 3 to 4 days after the last dose. The sustained response obtained in clinical trials indicates that dolutegravir has a tight binding and longer dissociative half-life providing it a high barrier to resistance.[A31343] The combination therapy (ripivirine and dolutegravir) presented the same viral suppression found in previous three-drug therapies without integrase strand transfer inhibitor mutations or rilpivirine resistance.[L1033]

Lamivudine is a synthetic nucleoside analogue. Lamivudine is phosphorylated intracellularly to lamivudine triphosphate. Incorporation of the monophosphate form into viral DNA occurs by hepatitis B virus (HBV) polymerase. As a result DNA chain is terminated. Lamivudine triphosphate also inhibits the RNA and DNA-dependent DNA polymerase activities of HIV-1 reverse transcriptase (RT). Lamivudine triphosphate is a very weak inhibitor of mammalian alpha, beta, and gamma-DNA polymerases.

Lamivudine is a nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NRTI) with activity against Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 (HIV-1) and hepatitis B (HBV) to disrupt viral DNA synthesis. When phosphorylated, lamivudine can form active metabolites that compete for incorporation into viral DNA. Via DNA incorporation, lamivudine metabolites competitively inhibit the activity of the HIV reverse transcriptase enzyme and act as a chain terminator of DNA synthesis. Due to the lack of a 3'-OH group, incorporated nucleoside analogues prevent the formation of a 5' to 3' phosphodiester linkage that is essential for DNA chain elongation.

Tenofovir Disoproxil Fumarate, an acyclic nucleotide analogue of adenosine monophosphate, is a pro-drug of Tenofovir. It shows activity against hepatitis B virus polymerase and HIV reverse transcriptase after phosphorylation to the active diphosphate form. Tenofovir diphosphate inhibits viral polymerase (reverse transcriptase) by directly competing with the natural substrate deoxyribonucleotide and by causing DNA chain termination after its incorporation into viral DNA.

Tenofovir has been shown to be highly effective in patients that have never had an antiretroviral therapy and it seemed to have lower toxicity than other antivirals such as stavudine. In phase 3 clinical trials, tenofovir presented a similar efficacy than efavirenz in treatment-naive HIV patients. In hepatitis B infected patients, after one year of tenofovir treatment, the viral DNA levels were undetectable.

Trade Name Viropil
Generic Dolutegravir + Lamivudine + Tenofovir
Weight 50mg
Type Tablet
Therapeutic Class
Manufacturer Emcure Pharmaceuticals Ltd
Available Country India
Last Updated: September 19, 2023 at 7:00 am
Viropil
Viropil

Uses

Dolutegravir is an antiviral agent used for the treatment of HIV-1 infections in combination with other antiretroviral agents.

Dolutegravir is indicated in combination with other antiretroviral agents for the treatment of patients with HIV-1 infection that comply with the characteristics of being adults or children aged 12 years and older and present at least a weight of 40 kg. The FDA combination therapy approval of dolutegravir and rilpivirine is indicated for adults with HIV-1 infections whose virus is currently suppressed (< 50 copies/ml) on a stable regimen for at least six months, without history of treatment failure and no known substitutions associated to resistance to any of the two components of the therapy.

Lamivudine is used for the treatment of chronic hepatitis B associated with evidence of hepatitis B viral replication and active liver inflammation.

This is used for the treatment of:

  • Chronic hepatitis B virus infection in adults
  • HIV infected adults in combination with other anti retroviral agents

Viropil is also used to associated treatment for these conditions: Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 (HIV-1) InfectionHepatitis B Chronic Infection, Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) Infections

How Viropil works

Dolutegravir is an HIV-1 antiviral agent. It inhibits HIV integrase by binding to the active site and blocking the strand transfer step of retroviral DNA integration in the host cell. The strand transfer step is essential in the HIV replication cycle and results in the inhibition of viral activity. Dolutegravir has a mean EC50 value of 0.5 nM (0.21 ng/mL) to 2.1 nM (0.85 ng/mL) in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and MT-4 cells.

Lamivudine is a synthetic nucleoside analogue and is phosphorylated intracellularly to its active 5'-triphosphate metabolite, lamivudine triphosphate (L-TP). This nucleoside analogue is incorporated into viral DNA by HIV reverse transcriptase and HBV polymerase, resulting in DNA chain termination.

Once tenofovir is activated by a bi-phosphorylation it acts as an antiviral acyclic nucleoside phosphonate. It is a potent inhibitor of the viral reverse transcriptase with an inhibitory constant of approximately 0.022 micromolar.

Once activated, tenofovir acts with different mechanisms including the inhibition of viral polymerase causing chain termination and the inhibition of viral synthesis. All these activities are attained by its competition with deoxyadenosine 5'-triphosphate in the generation of new viral DNA. Once tenofovir is incorporated in the chain, it induces a chain termination which in order inhibits viral replication. The safety of tenofovir relies on its low affinity towards the cellular DNA polymerase including the mitochondrial DNA polymerase gamma.

Dosage

Viropil dosage

The recommended oral dose of Lamivudine for the treatment of chronic hepatitis B in adults is 100 mg once daily.

The recommended dose of Tenofovir in chronic hepatitis B virus infection in adults 18 years of age and older with adequate renal function is 300 mg once daily with or without food.

Side Effects

Several serious adverse events reported with lamivudine (lactic acidosis and severe hepatomegaly with steatosis, post treatment exacerbations of hepatitis B, pancreatitis, and emergence of viral mutants associated with reduced drug susceptibility and diminished treatment response). Malaise, fatigue, fever, ENT infections, sore throat, nausea, vomiting, abdominal discomfort, pain, diarrhea, myalgia, arthralgia, headache, skin rashes may occur. Lactic acidosis and severe hepatomegaly with steatosis, have been reported.

The most common side effects are nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and flatulence.

Toxicity

There was no significant increases in drug-related neoplasms or in genotoxic effects or in mating or fertility effects.

The most common reported adverse reactions (incidence ≥15%) in adults were headache, nausea, malaise and fatigue, nasal signs and symptoms, diarrhea, and cough.

There haven't been reports regarding the LD50 of the parent compound nor the effects of an overdose. However, based on the reports with the derivative that most rapidly transforms into tenofovir, tenofovir disoproxil, it is recommended to monitor overdose patients. As well, it is widely known that tenofovir is efficiently removed by hemodialysis.

Administration of high doses of tenofovir has been reported to produce bone toxicity reported as osteomalacia and reduced bone mineral density and to produce some degree of renal toxicity.

To know more about the carcinogenicity and mutagenic potential of tenofovir, as well as the effect on fertility, please visit the drug entries for the derivatives tenofovir disoproxil and tenofovir alafenamide.

Precaution

Patients should be assessed before beginning treatment and during treatment with lamivudine by a physician experienced in the management of chronic hepatitis B.

Co-administration with other drugs: Tenofovir should not be administered concurrently with Emtricitabine & Tenofovir combination or Adefovir Dipivoxil.

Lactic Acidosis & Severe Hepatomegaly with Steatosis: Though the risk of occurrence of lactic acidosis is low for Tenofovir, treatment should be suspended in any patient who develops lactic acidosis or hepatotoxicity.

Exacerbation of hepatitis after discontinuation of treatment: Discontinuation of Tenofovirtherapy may be associated with severe acute exacerbation of hepatitis.

Interaction

Trimethoprim 160 mg / Sulfamethoxazole 800 mg once daily has been shown to increase lamivudine exposure (AUC). The effect of higher doses of trimethoprim /sulfamethoxazole on lamivudine pharmacokinetics has not been investigated.

Co-administration of Tenofovir with anti-retroviral, entecavir, lamivudine, methadone, oral contraceptives, ribavirin and tacrolimus did not result in significant drug interactions. The effects of co-administration of Tenofovir with other drugs that are renally eliminated or are known to affect renal function have not been evaluated.

Volume of Distribution

The administration of a dose of 50 mg of dolutegravir presents an apparent volume of distribution of 17.4 L. The median dolutegravir concentration in CSF was 18 ng/mL after 2 weeks of treatment.

Apparent volume of distribution, IV administration = 1.3 ± 0.4 L/kg. Volume of distribution was independent of dose and did not correlate with body weight.

Accumulation of tenofovir in plasma is related to the presence of nephrotoxic effects. It is reported that tenofovir presents a volume of distribution of 0.813 L/kg.

Elimination Route

When 50 mg of dolutegravir once daily was orally administered to HIV-1 infected adults, the AUC, Cmax, and Cmin is 53.6 mcg h/mL, 3.67 mcg/mL, and 1.11 mcg/mL, respectively. The peak plasma concentration was observed 2 to 3 hours post-dose. Steady state is achieved within approximately 5 days with average accumulation ratios for AUC, Cmax, and C24h ranging from 1.2 to 1.5. When 50 mg once daily is given to pediatric patients (12 to < 18 years and weighing ≥40 kg) the Cmax, AUC, and C24 is 3.49 mcg/mL, 46 mcg.h/mL, and 0.90 mcg/mL respectively.

Lamivudine was rapidly absorbed after oral administration in HIV-infected patients. Absolute bioavailability in 12 adult patients was 86% ± 16% (mean ± SD) for the 150-mg tablet and 87% ± 13% for the oral solution. The peak serum lamivudine concentration (Cmax) was 1.5 ± 0.5 mcg/mL when an oral dose of 2 mg/kg twice a day was given to HIV-1 patients. When given with food, absorption is slower, compared to the fasted state.

Tenofovir as the active moiety presents a very low bioavailability when orally administered. Hence, the administration of this active agent is required to be under its two prodrug forms, tenofovir disoproxil and tenofovir alafenamide. This reduced absorption is suggested to be related to the presence of two negative charges among its structure. This negative charge limits its cellular penetration, and its passive diffusion across cellular membranes and intestinal mucosa hindering its availability for oral administration.

Intravenous tenofovir has been shown to produce a maximum plasma concentration of 2500 ng/ml with an AUC of 4800 ng.h/ml.

Half Life

The half-life of dolutegravir is 14 hours.

5 to 7 hours (healthy or HBV-infected patients)

The reported half-life of tenofovir is of 32 hours.

Clearance

The apparent clearance rate of dultegravir is 1.0 L/h.

  • Renal clearance = 199.7 ± 56.9 mL/min [300 mg oral dose, healthy subjects]
  • Renal clearance = 280.4 ± 75.2 mL/min [single IV dose, HIV-1-infected patients]
  • Total clearance = 398.5 ± 69.1 mL/min [HIV-1-infected patients]

The clearance of tenofovir is highly dependent on the patient renal stage and hence the clearance rate in patients with renal impairment is reported to be of 134 ml/min while in patients with normal function the clearance rate can be of 210 ml/min.

Elimination Route

When a single oral dose of dolutegravir is given, nearly all complete dose is recovered in a proportion of 53% excreted unchanged in the feces and 31% excreted in urine. The renal eliminated recovered dose consists of ether glucuronide of dolutegravir (18.9%), a metabolite formed by oxidation at the benzylic carbon (3.0%), a hydrolytic N-dealkylation product (3.6%) and unchanged drug (< 1%).

The majority of lamivudine is eliminated unchanged in urine by active organic cationic secretion. 5.2% ± 1.4% (mean ± SD) of the dose was excreted as the trans-sulfoxide metabolite in the urine. Lamivudine is excreted in human breast milk and into the milk of lactating rats.

Tenofovir is eliminated in the urine by tubular secretion and glomerular filtration. The elimination of this compound is driven by the activity of the human organic anion transporters 1 and 3 and its secretion is mainly ruled by the activity of the multidrug resistance-associated protein 4.

Pregnancy & Breastfeeding use

There is no adequate and well-controlled study in pregnant women. Lamivudine should be used during pregnancy only if the potential benefits outweigh the risks. Although it is not known if lamivudine is excreted in human milk, there is the potential for adverse effects from lamivudine in nursing infants. Mothers should be instructed not to breast feed if they are receiving lamivudine.

Pregnancy: Pregnancy category B. It should be used during pregnancy only if clearly needed.

Lactation: It is not known whether it is excreted in human milk. Mothers should be instructed not to breast feed if they are taking Tenofovir.

Contraindication

Lamivudine is contraindicated in patients hypersensitive to any of the components of the product.

Tenofovir is contraindicated in patients with known hypersensitivity to Tenofovir or any component of the product.

Special Warning

It is recommended that doses of Lamivudine should be adjusted in accordance with renal function. Dosage adjustment of Lamivudine in accordance with creatinine clearance is as follows:

  • CrCl 50 ml/min: 100 mg once daily
  • CrCl 30-49 ml/min: 100 mg first dose, then 50 mg once daily
  • CrCl 15-29 ml/min: 100 mg first dose, then 25 mg once daily
  • CrCl 5-14 ml/min: 35 mg first dose, then 15 mg once daily
  • CrCl <5 ml/min: 35 mg first dose, then 10 mg once daily

Use in children: Safety and efficacy of lamivudine for the treatment of chronic hepatitis B in children have not been established.

Pediatric use: Safety and effectiveness of Tenofovir in pediatric patients below the age of 18 years have not been established.Geriatrics use: Clinical studies of Tenofovir did not include sufficient numbers of subjects aged 65 years and over to determine whether they respond differently from younger subjects. But care should be taken in dose selection, and it may be useful to monitor renal function.Renal Impairment: Haemodialysis patients: 300 mg once every 7 days or after a cumulative total of 12 hr of dialysis.

  • CrCl (10-29 mL/min): 300 mg 72-96 hrly.
  • CrCl (30-49 mL/min): 300 mg 48 hrly.

Hepatic impairment

: No dose adjustment is required in patients with hepatic impairment.

Acute Overdose

There is no experience of Tenofovir overdose reported in patients

Storage Condition

Store below 30˚C. Protect from light. Keep out of the reach of children.

Store in a cool and dry place, protected from light and moisture. Keep the medicine out of the reach of children.

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