Juluca

Generic Name: dolutegravir + rilpivirine

Abbreviation: DTG + RPV

Company: ViiV Healthcare and Janssen Therapeutics

Approval Status: Approved

Generic Version Available: No

Drug Indication

Juluca is an option to replace current antiretroviral treatment for people with suppressed HIV (less than 50 copies per mL) for at least six months and no history of treatment failure or resistance to the components of Juluca, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Antiretroviral Guidelines for Adults and Adolescents. However, Juluca is not recommended for previously untreated people living with HIV.

Visit https://aidsinfo.nih.gov/guidelines/html/1/adult-and-adolescent-arv-guidelines/0 for the full DHHS guidelines.

General Info

Juluca is a single-tablet regimen for HIV. It contains two different HIV drugs: an approved integrase inhibitor (dolutegravir) and an approved non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (rilpivirine). Juluca was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in November 2017.

Juluca was developed as two-drug maintenance therapy for people living with HIV. It can be used in place of a regimen involving three or more drugs, but only for those who have undetectable viral loads while on a stable HIV drug regimen for at least six months. Additionally, Juluca should only be used by those with no history of HIV treatment failure and no known HIV mutations known to cause resistance to either dolutegravir or rilpivirine.

Dosage

Adult Dose: One tablet once a day. Each tablet contains 50mg dolutegravir + 25mg rilpivirine. Juluca must be taken with a meal (with breakfast or dinner, for example).

If you take any supplements containing calcium or iron, you should take Juluca together with these supplements or take Juluca four hours before or six hours after taking these supplements.

Pediatric Dose: N/A

Dosing Info: This is a complete one-pill, once-daily drug regimen. It must be taken with a meal.

Side Effects

The most common adverse health events among those taking Juluca were diarrhea and headache.

Drug Interactions

For a review of drug interactions, including prescription and over-the-counter medications and supplements that should not be taken with Juluca or may require dose adjustments, consult the Juluca package insert.

Other Info

Before taking this medication, tell your doctor if you have kidney disease, liver disease (including hepatitis B), or a history of depression/suicidal thoughts. In addition, tell your doctor if you are pregnant or planning to become pregnant, if you are breast feeding, and all your medical conditions, including all prescription and over-the-counter medications and supplements you are taking.

For More Info: https://viivhealthcare.com/en-gb/our-medicines/juluca/

Co-Pay Program Info: https://www.poz.com/basics/hiv-basics/drug-assistance-programs

Patient Assistance Program Info: https://www.viivconnect.com/patient-assistance-program/

Last Reviewed: August 7, 2020