| Human immunodeficiency virus I infection

Descovy for PrEP vs Sunlenca

Side-by-side clinical, coverage, and cost comparison for human immunodeficiency virus i infection.

Deep comparison between: Descovy vs Sunlenca with Prescriber.AI

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Safety signalsSunlenca has a higher rate of injection site reactions vs Descovy based on FDA-approved prescribing information

Coverage gaps3 major payers require step therapy for Sunlenca but not Descovy, including UnitedHealthcare

Category

Descovy

Sunlenca

At A Glance

RouteOral

FrequencyDaily

ClassNRTI combination

RouteSC injection

FrequencyEvery 6 months

ClassHIV-1 capsid inhibitor

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 (Initiation Option 1) Day 1: 927 mg SC injection (2 x 1.5 mL) plus 600 mg oral (2 x 300 mg tablets); Day 2: 600 mg oral (2 x 300 mg tablets); then 927 mg SC every 6 months (26 weeks) for maintenance.

Human immunodeficiency virus I infection (Initiation Option 2) Days 1 and 2: 600 mg oral (2 x 300 mg tablets); Day 8: 300 mg oral (1 x 300 mg tablet); Day 15: 927 mg SC injection (2 x 1.5 mL); then 927 mg SC every 6 months (26 weeks) for maintenance.

Contraindications

Unknown or positive HIV-1 status when used for HIV-1 PrEP

Concomitant use of strong CYP3A inducers

Drug Interactions

1759View drug interactions

347View drug interactions

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 (>=3%) Injection site reactions, nausea

Serious Grade 3 injection site reactions (erythema, pain, swelling)

Postmarketing Injection site necrosis

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.

Lenacapavir is a multistage, selective HIV-1 capsid inhibitor that directly binds to capsid protein (p24) subunits in hexamers, inhibiting multiple essential steps of the viral lifecycle including capsid-mediated nuclear uptake of proviral DNA, virus assembly and release, and capsid core formation.

View Full FDA Information

View full FDA information

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Most Common Insurance

Anthem BCBS

Descovy