NEW ZEALAND'S PHARMAC FUNDS NEW HIV TREATMENTS

New Zealand's Pharmaceutical Management Agency (PHARMAC) has announced that a new once-a-day medicine to treat HIV is now part of a package of available HIV treatments.

Reyataz (atazanavir), made by Bristol-Myers Squibb, is a once-a-day protease inhibitor that has fewer metabolic side effects than other protease inhibitor drugs that are dosed multiple times per day, according to PHARMAC. These side effects can cause complications like heart disease.

The HIV treatment package also now includes Bristol-Myers' Pravachol (pravastatin), a cholesterol-lowering drug that can be used to correct metabolic side effects in people with HIV who are being treated with protease inhibitors. Two statins are already funded, atorvastain and simvastatin, but pravastatin is the only one that can be used in combination with protease inhibitors.

"By and large people can manage their HIV well with the drug treatments that are available," PHARMAC Medical Director Peter Moodie said. "It is not uncommon, though, for people who are taking protease inhibitors to have metabolic complications such as increased triglyceride and cholesterol levels. These can lead to an increased risk of heart disease, so these funding decisions provide welcome new treatment options."