DI-087 Drug use evaluation: Effectiveness, safety and cost of emtricitabine/tenofovir/rilpivirine

Background Eviplera is a combination of three antiretroviral drugs, emtricitabine, tenofovir and rilpivirine, which has just been marketed in Spain. Its approval indication, in 2012, was the treatment of treatment-naive patients with type-1 HIV infection and a viral load ≤100,000 copies/ml, although it could be used in certain cases in pretreated patients. Due to its recent approval, it seems interesting to assess all the side effects that our patients may experience and the real effectiveness given its lower price compared to most antiretroviral drugs in use. Purpose To assess the effectiveness, safety and cost of treatment with Eviplera in treatment-naive and pretreated patients. Materials and methods Observational retrospective study of 48 patients. Values of CD4 + lymphocytes and viral load were recorded to assess effectiveness and telephone interviews were conducted to find out the side effects experienced. The cost of Eviplera was compared to the cost of the previous treatment in the case of pretreated patients. Results 48 patients were studied, 10 treatment-naive and 38 pretreated. Data of effectiveness and safety were available only in 21 and 33 patients, respectively. Eviplera seemed to be effective in 100% of the patients regardless of their condition of treatment-naive or pretreated. The median increment in CD4 + lymphocytes was 106. 42% of the patients suffered some side effect and the most frequently observed were mild headaches, gastrointestinal disorders, fatigue, sickness and insomnia. Finally, median annual savings of 1463 euros per patient were observed. Conclusions Eviplera seems to be a cost-effective combination of antiretroviral drugs in treatment of HIV-1 treatment-naive or pretreated patients. It has been shown that patients may experience adverse events but these are mild in most cases. Further studies should be carried out with longer periods of follow-up before reaching a conclusion. No conflict of interest.