| Human immunodeficiency virus I infection
Descovy for PrEP vs Juluca
Side-by-side clinical, coverage, and cost comparison for human immunodeficiency virus i infection.Deep comparison between: Descovy vs Juluca with Prescriber.AI
AI compares prescribing info and payer-specific access barriers across 1,200+ formularies. Here's a preview of what prescribers are already asking.Safety signalsJuluca has a higher rate of injection site reactions vs Descovy based on FDA-approved prescribing information
Coverage gaps3 major payers require step therapy for Juluca but not Descovy, including UnitedHealthcare
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Category
Descovy
Juluca
At A Glance
Oral
Daily
NRTI combination
Oral
Once daily
INSTI/NNRTI combination
Indications
- Human immunodeficiency virus I infection
- Human immunodeficiency virus I infection
Dosing
Human immunodeficiency virus I infection Adults and pediatric patients >=35 kg: one 200 mg/25 mg tablet once daily with or without food; pediatric patients 25 to <35 kg: one 200 mg/25 mg tablet once daily; 14 to <25 kg: one 120 mg/15 mg tablet once daily (with other antiretrovirals including DRV+COBI but not other PI/ritonavir or PI/cobicistat combinations); not recommended with eGFR 15-30 mL/min or <15 mL/min without chronic hemodialysis.
HIV-1 PrEP One 200 mg/25 mg tablet once daily orally with or without food in adults and adolescents >=35 kg with eGFR >=30 mL/min, or adults with eGFR <15 mL/min on chronic hemodialysis (dose after hemodialysis); not recommended with eGFR 15-30 mL/min or <15 mL/min without hemodialysis.
Human immunodeficiency virus I infection One tablet (dolutegravir 50 mg/rilpivirine 25 mg) orally once daily with a meal; if coadministered with rifabutin, take an additional rilpivirine 25-mg tablet with JULUCA once daily with a meal for the duration of rifabutin coadministration.
Contraindications
- Unknown or positive HIV-1 status when used for HIV-1 PrEP
- Previous hypersensitivity reaction to dolutegravir or rilpivirine
- Coadministration with dofetilide
- Coadministration with carbamazepine, oxcarbazepine, phenobarbital, or phenytoin
- Coadministration with rifampin or rifapentine
- Coadministration with systemic dexamethasone (more than a single-dose treatment)
- Coadministration with St John's wort (Hypericum perforatum)
- Coadministration with proton pump inhibitors (esomeprazole, lansoprazole, omeprazole, pantoprazole, rabeprazole)
Adverse Reactions
Most common (>=10%) Nausea (in antiretroviral treatment-naive adults with HIV-1 receiving FTC+TAF with EVG+COBI)
Serious Severe acute exacerbations of hepatitis B, immune reconstitution syndrome, new onset or worsening renal impairment, lactic acidosis/severe hepatomegaly with steatosis
Postmarketing Angioedema, urticaria, rash, acute renal failure, acute tubular necrosis, proximal renal tubulopathy, Fanconi syndrome
Most common (>=2%) Diarrhea, headache, nausea
Serious Depressive disorders including suicidal ideation, hepatotoxicity, skin and hypersensitivity reactions
Postmarketing Acute liver failure, hepatotoxicity, weight increase, arthralgia, myalgia, nephrotic syndrome, severe skin and hypersensitivity reactions including DRESS
Pharmacology
Dual HIV NRTI combination; emtricitabine (FTC) and tenofovir alafenamide (TAF) each inhibit HIV-1 reverse transcriptase via nucleotide analog chain termination after intracellular phosphorylation, with TAF serving as a prodrug converted intracellularly to tenofovir and then to the active metabolite tenofovir diphosphate.
JULUCA is a fixed-dose combination of dolutegravir, an integrase strand transfer inhibitor (INSTI) that blocks the strand transfer step of retroviral DNA integration essential for HIV replication, and rilpivirine, a diarylpyrimidine non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI) that non-competitively inhibits HIV-1 reverse transcriptase without inhibiting human cellular DNA polymerases alpha, beta, or gamma.
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Most Common Insurance
Anthem BCBS
Descovy
- Covered on 5 commercial plans
- PA (1/12) · Step Therapy (1/12) · Qty limit (11/12)
Juluca
- Covered on 5 commercial plans
- PA (9/12) · Step Therapy (1/12) · Qty limit (11/12)
UnitedHealthcare
Descovy
- Covered on 4 commercial plans
- PA (0/8) · Step Therapy (0/8) · Qty limit (6/8)
Juluca
- Covered on 4 commercial plans
- PA (0/8) · Step Therapy (0/8) · Qty limit (8/8)
Humana
Descovy
- Covered on 0 commercial plans
- PA (0/3) · Step Therapy (0/3) · Qty limit (3/3)
Juluca
- Covered on 0 commercial plans
- PA (0/3) · Step Therapy (0/3) · Qty limit (3/3)
Coverage data sourced from MMIT. Updated monthly.
Savings
$0
Gilead Advancing Access Patient Assistance Program/Medication Assistance Program (PAP/MAP)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.