| Human immunodeficiency virus I infection

Apretude vs Symtuza

Side-by-side clinical, coverage, and cost comparison for human immunodeficiency virus i infection.
Deep comparison between: Apretude vs Symtuza with Prescriber.AI
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Safety signalsSymtuza has a higher rate of injection site reactions vs Apretude based on FDA-approved prescribing information
Coverage gaps3 major payers require step therapy for Symtuza but not Apretude, including UnitedHealthcare
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Apretude
Symtuza
At A Glance
IM injection
Every 2 months
HIV integrase strand transfer inhibitor
Oral
Once daily
Protease inhibitor + CYP3A inhibitor + NRTI combination
Indications
  • Human immunodeficiency virus I infection
  • Human immunodeficiency virus I infection
Dosing
Human immunodeficiency virus I infection 600-mg (3-mL) gluteal IM initiation injections 1 month apart for 2 consecutive months, then 600-mg (3-mL) every 2 months; optional oral lead-in with cabotegravir 30 mg once daily for at least 28 days prior to first injection.
Human immunodeficiency virus I infection One tablet orally once daily with food in adults and pediatric patients weighing at least 40 kg (800 mg darunavir/150 mg cobicistat/200 mg emtricitabine/10 mg tenofovir alafenamide).
Contraindications
  • Unknown or positive HIV-1 status
  • Previous hypersensitivity reaction to cabotegravir
  • Coadministration with anticonvulsants (carbamazepine, oxcarbazepine, phenobarbital, phenytoin) due to significant UGT1A1 induction decreasing cabotegravir plasma concentrations
  • Coadministration with antimycobacterials rifampin or rifapentine due to significant UGT1A1 induction decreasing cabotegravir plasma concentrations
  • Alfuzosin co-administration
  • Carbamazepine, phenobarbital, or phenytoin co-administration
  • Colchicine in patients with renal and/or hepatic impairment
  • Rifampin co-administration
  • Lurasidone or pimozide co-administration
  • Dronedarone, ivabradine, or ranolazine co-administration
  • Ergot derivatives (dihydroergotamine, ergotamine, methylergonovine) co-administration
  • St. John's wort co-administration
  • Elbasvir/grazoprevir co-administration
  • Lomitapide, lovastatin, or simvastatin co-administration
  • Naloxegol co-administration
  • Sildenafil when used for pulmonary arterial hypertension
  • Orally administered midazolam or triazolam co-administration
Adverse Reactions
Most common (>=1%) Injection site reactions, diarrhea, headache, pyrexia, fatigue, sleep disorders, nausea, dizziness, flatulence, abdominal pain, vomiting, myalgia, rash, decreased appetite, somnolence, back pain, upper respiratory tract infection
Serious Hypersensitivity reactions, hepatotoxicity, depressive disorders including depression, suicidal ideation, and suicide attempt
Postmarketing Hypersensitivity reactions (angioedema, urticaria), Stevens-Johnson syndrome/toxic epidermal necrolysis
Most common (>=2%) Diarrhea, rash, nausea, fatigue, headache, abdominal discomfort, flatulence
Serious Severe acute exacerbations of hepatitis B, hepatotoxicity, severe skin reactions, immune reconstitution syndrome, new onset or worsening renal impairment, lactic acidosis/severe hepatomegaly with steatosis
Postmarketing Redistribution of body fat, rhabdomyolysis, toxic epidermal necrolysis, acute generalized exanthematous pustulosis, drug rash with eosinophilia and systemic symptoms, acute renal failure, acute tubular necrosis, proximal renal tubulopathy, Fanconi syndrome, crystal nephropathy, crystalluria
Pharmacology
Cabotegravir is an HIV integrase strand transfer inhibitor (INSTI) that inhibits HIV replication by binding to the integrase active site and blocking the strand transfer step of retroviral DNA integration, which is essential for the HIV replication cycle.
Symtuza is a fixed-dose combination containing darunavir (an HIV-1 protease inhibitor that prevents cleavage of Gag-Pol polyproteins), cobicistat (a CYP3A inhibitor that enhances darunavir exposure), emtricitabine (an NRTI that inhibits HIV reverse transcriptase through chain termination), and tenofovir alafenamide (an NRTI prodrug converted to tenofovir diphosphate that inhibits HIV reverse transcriptase).
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Most Common Insurance
Anthem BCBS
Apretude
  • Covered on 5 commercial plans
  • PA (0/12) · Step Therapy (0/12) · Qty limit (0/12)
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Symtuza
  • Covered on 5 commercial plans
  • PA (5/12) · Step Therapy (5/12) · Qty limit (11/12)
View full coverage details ›
UnitedHealthcare
Apretude
  • Covered on 4 commercial plans
  • PA (0/8) · Step Therapy (0/8) · Qty limit (0/8)
View full coverage details ›
Symtuza
  • Covered on 4 commercial plans
  • PA (0/8) · Step Therapy (0/8) · Qty limit (2/8)
View full coverage details ›
Humana
Apretude
  • Covered on 0 commercial plans
  • PA (0/3) · Step Therapy (0/3) · Qty limit (0/3)
View full coverage details ›
Symtuza
  • Covered on 0 commercial plans
  • PA (0/3) · Step Therapy (0/3) · Qty limit (3/3)
View full coverage details ›
Coverage data sourced from MMIT. Updated monthly.
Savings
$0/fillfill
Apretude Savings Program
Commercial or private insurance
Medicare, Medicaid, VA, TRICARE
Cost estimate not availableGood Days: HIV, AIDS Treatment & Prevention
Commercial or private insurance
Medicare, Medicaid, VA, TRICARE
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Clinical data sourced from FDA-approved labeling. Coverage data via MMIT. Updated monthly.