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Media advisory - ATRIPLA(TM) receives reimbursement approval in Quebec
(Canada Newswire English Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Attention News/Health/Business Editors
The First Once-Daily Single Tablet Regimen for HIV Can Help Simplify
Treatment
MISSISSAUGA, ON and MONTREAL, June 2 /CNW Telbec/ - Bristol-Myers Squibb Canada and Gilead Sciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: GILD) announced today that ATRIPLA(TM) (efavirenz 600 mg/emtricitabine 200 mg/tenofovir disoproxil fumarate 300?mg), the only once-daily, single-tablet HIV regimen in Canada, has received approval from the Quebec Minister of Health following a recommendation from the Conseil du m?dicament du Qu?bec. Effective immediately ATRIPLA will be fully listed on Liste de m?dicaments du r?gime g?n?ral (general formulary) and Liste de m?dicaments-?tablissements (institutional formulary). ATRIPLA was approved by Health Canada in October 2007 for use alone as a complete regimen or in combination with other antiretroviral agents for the treatment of HIV-1 infection in adults.
ATRIPLA was developed through a joint venture partnership between Bristol-Myers Squibb Company and Gilead Sciences. ATRIPLA combines SUSTIVA(R) (efavirenz), manufactured by Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, and Truvada- (emtricitabine/tenofovir disoproxil fumarate), manufactured by Gilead Sciences. Truvada itself is a fixed-dose product that contains two of Gilead's anti-HIV medications, Viread(R) (tenofovir disoproxil fumarate) and Emtriva(R) (emtricitabine), in a single once-daily tablet for use as part of combination therapy. All three medicines work by blocking reverse transcriptase, an enzyme necessary for HIV replication.
ATRIPLA will allow suitable HIV patients in Qu?bec to take a complete treatment regimen in one pill, once daily, which is a significant advance over the complex dosing schedules and dietary restrictions required by some HIV regimens.
ATRIPLA was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in July 2006 and has since become the most prescribed treatment regimen for patients starting HIV therapy in the United States. In Canada, approximately 61,000?people are living with HIV, and roughly 2,500 new HIV diagnoses are reported each year. Approximately 27 percent of those with HIV are unaware of their infection.
It is important for patients to be aware that anti-HIV medicines do not cure HIV infection or AIDS and have not been shown to reduce the risk of transmitting HIV to others.
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All HIV medicines can have serious side effects. Patients should consult
a doctor before initiating or changing therapy.
The Canadian product monograph for ATRIPLA is available at
www.bmscanada.com or www.gilead.ca.
The Canadian product monograph for SUSTIVA is available at
www.bmscanada.com.
The Canadian product monographs for Truvada, Viread and Emtriva are
available at www.gilead.ca.
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Marc Osborne, Bristol-Myers Squibb Canada, (514) 333-2463, marc.osborne@bms.com; Meredith Fuller, Quarry Integrated Communications, (519) 570-2020 ext. 2443, mfuller@quarry.com
Copyright ? 2008 Canada Newswire Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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