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This category is a booster category not an antiretroviral category. A “booster” is used in combination with antiretroviral drugs to boost/increase their levels in your blood.

DHHS Status: Recommended in Combination as Initial Regimen in Certain Clinical Situations used as a Booster

Manufacturer: AbbVie (www.abbvie.com) Tybost (www.norvir.com)

FDA approval date: September 24, 2014

Financial Assistance: https://www.abbviepaf.org

Norvir comes in 100mg tablet and gelatin capsules and 80mg/mL oral solution. Recommended dose is 600mg (6 capsules) every 12 hours which is almost never prescribed anymore. Lower doses of 100mg and 200mg when used as a boosting agent.

Review: Although Norvir is still approved as a PI, nobody really uses it for that anymore. Norvir is used as a “booster” for other PIs which helps keep the PI active in your blood longer. Gilead Science’s pharmacokinetic enhancer, Tybost (cobicistat) which was approved by the FDA in September of 2014, is a substitute boosting agent and has been approved in combination with Reyataz to form EvoTaz and Prezista to form Prezcobix both in single pill form. The introduction and approval of Tybost can potentially help many with the side effects of Norvir.

DHHS Status: Recommended in Combination as Initial Regimen for Most People with HIV

Manufacturer: Gilead Sciences (www.gilead.com) Tybost (www.tybost.com)

FDA approval date: September 24, 2014

Financial Assistance: https://www.gileadcopay.com

Tybost dosing is one 150mg tablet taken once a day with food.

Review: Cobicistat is a drug used to boost the levels of other medications and is not in and of itself an HIV medication. Tybost is classified as a Pharmacokinetic Enhancer. It has no antiretroviral activity of its own. It is an alternative to Norvir. While still having some of the same side effects as Norvir, it received FDA approval to be co-formulated into one-pill dosing with Prezista (Prezcobix, approved on January 29, 2015) and Reyataz (Evotaz, also approved by the FDA on January 29, 2015) so that will be an advantage over Norvir by lessening the pill burden and also help decrease insurance co-pays. Cobicistat is currently included in the single tablet regimens Stribild that was approved by the FDA in August of 2012 and Genvoya that was approved November 5, 2015.

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