Trizivir is an unlicensed product from Glaxo Wellcome which includes their three nucleoside analogues (AZT, 3TC and abacavir) in a single tablet. GW have recently opened a Trizivir named patient programme in the UK. This scheme provides an unlicensed product to a doctor who applies for its use on behalf of a patient, and takes responsibility for the patient’s welfare as a result.
The programme is for patients for whom adherence is a major problem or who have encountered practical difficulties with daily pill administration of other treatment regimes, and can be accessed only where, in the judgement of the prescribing physician, Trizivir is a viable treatment option where no currently licensed alternative is available, which might lead to improved patient adherence.
In effect, this means that anyone who thinks they would find it easier to stick to a dosing regimen which reduces the daily pill burden, can, after weighing up the potential for viral rebound when switching any stable treatment regimen, discuss with their doctor the possibility of switching to Trizivir.
You can read a discussion of triple nucleoside analogue regimens and concerns about their use in people with high viral load in the November 1999 issue of AIDS Treatment Update