WHAT ARE COMBINATION MEDICATIONS?
Combination medications are pills, tablets, or injections that contain more than one medication to treat HIV. They are listed in the tables below. Pharmaceutical companies have been working hard to make their medications easier to take. Part of this effort has been to combine more than one medication into a single pill. These combinations are referred to as fixed-dose combinations (FDCs). Combination antiretroviral therapy (ART), sometimes called highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), has revolutionized the management of HIV infection and rendered it a chronic manageable disease.
The first FDC to treat HIV was Combivir, manufactured by ViiV Healthcare. Combivir contains two nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs): lamivudine and zidovudine. This was followed by Trizivir, also manufactured by ViiV Healthcare. Trizivir includes three NRTIs: abacavir, lamivudine, and zidovudine. Both Combivir and Trizivir are no longer widely used in the U.S. due to the frequency and severity of side effects.
Be sure that you do not take a combination medication along with any of its components! For example, do not take Truvada (which contains emtricitabine and tenofovir DF) with tenofovir DF (Viread) or emtricitabine (Emtriva). Your healthcare provider will help you decide which HAART regimen is best for you; take your medications exactly as your healthcare provider tells you to.
TABLE OF COMBINATION HIV MEDICATIONS
| Brand name | Year Approved | Individual Components | Also Known As | Manufacturer |
| Kaletra* | 2000 | lopinavir – PI
ritonavir – PI |
LPV / RTV | AbbVie Inc. |
| Epzicom* | 2004 | abacavir – NRTI
lamivudine – NRTI |
ABC / 3TC | ViiV Healthcare |
| Truvada* | 2004 | emtricitabine – NRTI
tenofovir DF – NRTI |
FTC / TDF | Gilead Sciences |
| Atripla* | 2006 | efavirenz – NNRTI
emtricitabine – NRTI tenofovir DF – NRTI |
EFV / FTC / TDF | Gilead Sciences |
| Complera | 2011 | emtricitabine – NRTI
rilpivirine — NNRTI tenofovir DF – NRTI |
FTC / RPV / TDF | Gilead Sciences |
| Stribild | 2012 | elvitegravir – Integrase Inhibitor
cobicistat – PK Enhancer emtricitabine — NRTI tenofovir DF – NRTI |
QUAD
EVG / COBI / FTC / TDF |
Gilead Sciences |
| Triumeq | 2014 | abacavir – NRTI
dolutegravir – Integrase Inhibitor lamivudine – NRTI |
ABC / DTG / 3TC | ViiV Healthcare |
| Prezcobix | 2015 | darunavir – PI
cobicistat – PK Enhancer |
DRV / COBI | Janssen Therapeutics |
| Evotaz | 2015 | atazanavir – PI
cobicistat – PK Enhancer |
ATV / COBI | Bristol-Myers Squibb |
| Genvoya | 2015 | elvitegravir – Integrase Inhibitor
cobicistat – PK Enhancer emtricitabine – NRTI tenofovir AF – NRTI |
EVG / COBI / FTC / TAF | Gilead Sciences |
| Odefsey | 2016 | emtricitabine – NRTI
rilpivirine – NNRTI tenofovir AF – NRTI |
FTC / RPV / TAF | Gilead Sciences |
| Descovy | 2016 | emtricitabine — NRTI
tenofovir AF – NRTI |
FTC/TAF | Gilead Sciences |
| Juluca | 2017 | dolutegravir – Integrase Inhibitor
rilpivirine – NNRTI |
DTG / RPV | ViiV Healthcare |
| Biktarvy | 2018 | bictegravir – Integrase Inhibitor
emtricitabine – NRTI tenofovir AF – NRTI |
BIC / FTC / TAF | Gilead Sciences |
| Symfi and Symfi Lo* | 2018 | efavirenz – NNRTI
lamivudine – NRTI tenofovir DF – NRTI |
EFV / 3TC / TDF | Viatris |
| Cimduo | 2018 | lamivudine – NRTI
tenofovir DF – NRTI |
Temixys
3TC / TDF |
Viatris |
| Delstrigo | 2018 | doravirine – NNRTI
lamivudine – NRTI tenofovir DF – NRTI |
DOR / 3TC / TDF | Merck & Co., Inc. |
| Symtuza | 2018 | darunavir – PI
cobicistat – PK Enhancer emtricitabine – NRTI tenofovir AF – NRTI |
DRV / COBI / FTC / TAF | Janssen Therapeutics |
| Dovato | 2019 | dolutegravir – Integrase Inhibitor
lamivudine – NRTI |
DTG / 3TC | ViiV Healthcare |
| Cabenuva | 2021 | cabotegravir – Integrase Inhibitor
rilpivirine – NNRTI |
CAB / RPV | ViiV Healthcare |
*Generic versions have been approved under the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).
Reviewed June 2024
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