A new and more convenient formulation of the protease inhibitor amprenavir, called Telzir, is now available on prescription in the United Kingdom, manufacturer GlaxoSmithKline announced today.
The United Kingdom is the first European country to launch the drug. It is likely to become available in France, the Netherlands and Germany within the next few months. Availability in Spain, Portugal and Italy will be subject to national negotiations on price.
Telzir, already licensed as Lexiva in the United States, must be taken with a small dose of ritonavir in order to boost levels of the drug. The approved dose is one Telzir tablet and one ritonavir capsule twice a day, with no food restrictions.
Telzir is a new formulation of amprenavir, known as fosamprenavir. The previous version of the drug, marketed as Agenerase, required twice daily dosing with eight large capsules.
GlaxoSmithKline is keen to emphasise that the new dosing requirements make Telzir one of the most convenient protease inhibitors to take, but clinicians are likely to judge the drug on its potency and resistance profile when making decisions about how to use it.
Telzir will compete with two other boosted protease inhibitors, atazanavir (Reyataz) and lopinavir (Kaletra) for the second- and third-line treatment market.