In the United States, most commercial and government health insurance policies cover a percentage of the cost of Biktarvy. A individual who uses Biktarvy typically pays between $0 and $9 per month. Your out-of-pocket expenses will be determined by your insurance plan, formulary, state of residence, and any deductibles or copays you may have.
How much does Biktarvy cost out of pocket?
Depending on the drugstore you visit, Biktarvy oral tablet (50 mg-200 mg-25 mg) costs roughly $3,751 for a supply of 30 tablets. Prices are only valid for cash paying consumers and do not apply to insurance programs.
How can I get Biktarvy for free?
Getting Started With Advancing Access is Simple. If you’re eligible and accepted, you’ll get your free product approval and member number right away, which you may take to a participating drugstore. Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. EST, dial 2056 1-800-226-2056.
Can I drink alcohol with Biktarvy?
Official response. There is no particular warning on the product label against drinking alcohol (ethanol) while using Biktarvy, an HIV therapy medicine. However, consuming too much alcohol might harm your liver.
How effective is Biktarvy?
Gilead released intermediate data from the ongoing BICSTaR study, which is evaluating the antiviral effectiveness and safety profile of Biktarvy (bictegravir 50 mg/emtricitabine 200 mg/tenofovir alafenamide 25 mg tablets, B/F/TAF) in 1,135 people living with HIV. The BICSTaR trial also gathered patient-reported outcomes in ordinary clinical practice to better understand the impact of treatment on HIV-positive people’s health-related quality of life.
Gilead provided data from the BICSTaR study, which looked at patient-reported outcomes after 12 months of Biktarvy medication. People living with HIV who started treatment with Biktarvy between June 2018 and September 2020 answered questionnaires at baseline and 12 months during the trial, which was done in Europe, Canada, and Israel. The questionnaires looked at a wide range of patient-reported outcomes.
After one year of treatment, 97 percent of 154 treatment-naive individuals and 96 percent of 800 treatment-experienced adults achieved and maintained virologic suppression, according to a second analysis of the BICSTaR research. Adults over the age of 50, cisgender women, and late presenters were among the participants.
Biktarvy for HIV
Biktarvy has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration to treat HIV-1 in adults and children weighing at least 14 kilograms (about 31 pounds) who:
- having an undetectable HIV viral load (i.e., a virus level so low that lab testing can’t identify it)
- haven’t had any previous treatment failures (which occurs when drugs stop working to control the virus)
- haven’t had to switch medications in the past due to viral resistance to any of Biktarvy’s active drugs (with viral resistance, the virus develops small changes that make it less sensitive to a particular drug)
HIV is a virus that causes your immune system to deteriorate. HIV is divided into two types: HIV-1 (the most common) and HIV-2.
HIV is spread by vaginal and rectal fluids, as well as blood, sperm, and breast milk. The virus targets CD4 cells, which are white blood cells. Normally, these cells assist your immune system in fighting infections and malignancies.
For many years, HIV may not create symptoms. If HIV isn’t treated, though, your CD4 count can plummet. This can progress to AIDS, an advanced and life-threatening type of HIV.
Antiretroviral treatment
Antiretroviral medicines are used to treat HIV. These medications work to reduce your viral load. Antiretrovirals can’t cure HIV, but they can lower your viral load to a point where blood tests couldn’t identify it. When there are less than 50 copies of HIV per milliliter of blood, the virus is undetectable.
When your viral load is undetectable, the virus cannot be transmitted through intercourse to another person. You’re also less likely to pass it on through pregnancy, breastfeeding, or sharing needles. Having an undetectable viral load reduces your chances of contracting illnesses and distributing HIV to others.
Antiretrovirals also help you increase your CD4 count. This strengthens your immune system and makes it more capable of fighting infections and malignancies. This can assist you in leading a better lifestyle.
HIV is treated with a cocktail of medications that attack the virus in different ways. Biktarvy is a pill that comprises three medications in one. It’s a complete HIV-1 treatment. This means you won’t need to take any other HIV medications in addition to it.
Effectiveness for HIV
Biktarvy was found to be beneficial in decreasing HIV viral load to undetectable levels in several clinical investigations.
Adults who had never taken antiretrovirals took part in two investigations. Biktarvy was compared to other triple-drug combinations that were similar. In one trial, patients were given either Biktarvy (which contains bictegravir sodium, emtricitabine, and tenofovir alafenamide) or Triumeq (which contains bictegravir sodium, emtricitabine, and tenofovir alafenamide) (which contains abacavir, dolutegravir and lamivudine). Biktarvy or a combination of Tivicay and Descovy were used in the other trial. (Dolutegravir is present in Tivicay.) Emtricitabine and tenofovir alafenamide are included in Descovy.)
Adults who were on antiretrovirals and had undetectable viral levels were included in two more studies. People taking Triumeq were given the option of switching to Biktarvy or continuing to take Triumeq in one research. In the other research, patients who were receiving a combination of antiretrovirals were given the option of switching to Biktarvy or continuing to take their existing antiretrovirals.
Biktarvy for other conditions
You might be wondering if Biktarvy can be used for anything else. Below is an example of when Biktarvy should not be prescribed.
Biktarvy is not licensed by the FDA for HIV preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP). PrEP is a treatment that allows people who do not have HIV to minimize their chance of catching the infection through sex.
The FDA has only approved three HIV medicines for PrEP at this time. Truvada, Descovy, and Apretude are the three. There are currently no alternative medicines that are suggested for this purpose. Other HIV medicines, such as Biktarvy, are not known to be useful for this purpose.
Biktarvy and children
Biktarvy is FDA-approved for treating HIV in children and adults weighing at least 14 kilos (about 31 pounds). Biktarvy isn’t known to be safe or effective for treating HIV in youngsters who weigh less than this.
Biktarvy was studied in children who were on antiretroviral therapy and had undetectable virus levels. Biktarvy was given to all of the children in this research instead of their other medicine. In the following cases, the viral load was undetectable:
These children weighed less than 55 pounds and weighted at least 31 pounds (14 kilograms).
Does Biktarvy cause weight gain?
Biktarvy, on the other hand, has active ingredients from a class of pharmaceuticals known as nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors. It also contains an active ingredient from the integrase inhibitor class of drugs. Additionally, medicines in these classes have been linked to weight gain.
Tell your doctor if you gain weight unintentionally while taking Biktarvy. They may be able to suggest solutions to deal with this side effect.
* A drug class is a group of drugs that all operate in the same way. Emtricitabine and tenofovir alafenamide, which are nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors, are the active ingredients of Biktarvy. It also contains the integrase inhibitor bictegravir sodium as an active ingredient.
How long does Biktarvy stay in your system and cause side effects?
It’s unclear how long it will take for adverse effects to subside once Biktarvy medication is stopped. Biktarvy’s active ingredients rarely linger in the body for more than a few days after the previous dose. However, this varies from person to person.
Do not stop taking Biktarvy unless your doctor tells you it’s okay. Stopping Biktarvy can have major consequences in persons who have specific medical issues. * If you’re going to quit taking the drug, your doctor may want to keep an eye on you for these adverse effects. Talk to your doctor if you experience any side effects that annoy you or last a long time.
* If you have hepatitis B, discontinuing Biktarvy could make it worse. This is a side effect that Biktarvy has a boxed warning for. The Food and Drug Administration’s most serious warning is a boxed warning (FDA). For further information, see “Side effect specifics” below.
What are the long-term side effects of Biktarvy?
Biktarvy may have long-term consequences. These are uncommon, but they do happen.
Call your doctor if you have any long-term negative effects while taking Biktarvy. (For instances of symptoms, see the “Serious side effects” section above.) Any negative effects you experience can be managed with the advice of your doctor. This could include trying a different HIV drug than Biktarvy.
Does Biktarvy cause hair loss?
Biktarvy, on the other hand, contains active pharmaceuticals from the nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors class of medications*, as well as an active drug from the integrase inhibitors class of medications. And it’s been noted that medicines in these classes induce hair loss.
Contact your doctor if you develop hair loss while taking Biktarvy. They’ll be able to advise you on how to deal with this complication.
Is joint pain a side effect of Biktarvy?
No, it isn’t. People who took Biktarvy in clinical trials did not experience joint pain as a negative effect. It hasn’t been reported with Biktarvy’s active medicines. Bictegravir, emtricitabine, and tenofovir alafenamide are the medications in question.
Call your doctor if you have joint pain while taking Biktarvy. They may be able to suggest therapies for this complication.
How long do you have to take Biktarvy?
Biktarvy Emtricitabine, tenofovir alafenamide, and bictegravir are three antiviral medications used to treat HIV infection. Biktarvy reduces HIV viral load in as short as four weeks and continues to do so for the first three to six months, when it is usually undetectable.
Is Biktarvy a good drug?
For the treatment of HIV infection, Biktarvy has an average rating of 7.0 out of 10 based on 141 reviews. A good effect was recorded by 56 percent of reviewers, while a negative effect was reported by 21%.