Kaletra (lopinavir/r, Aluvia)
12 May 2018. Related: ARVs, PIs.
No longer recommended in the UK.
kal-EE-tra (lo-PIN-a-veer)
- Kaletra is a combination of a protease inhibitor lopinavir (200 mg) plus a booster dose (50 mg) of ritonavir in the same pill. The trade name is Kaletra in Western countries and Aluvia in low income countries.
- In resource-limited countries this is a brown tablet with the same design (trade name Aluvia).
- Standard adult dose: 2 x 250 mg tablets, twice-daily.
- Alternative adult dose: 4 x 250 mg tablets, once-daily. Once-daily dosing is only recommended after a risk assessment based on drug resistance.
- Take with or without food (note that earlier capsule formualtion and liquid formulations need to be taken with food).
- Side effects: nausea, changes in lipids (blood fat) which should be routinely monitored, lipodystrophy (fat accumulation), heart disease and diarrhoea.
Further information
Information on lipodystrophy and heart disease from the i-Base side effects guide.
The European patient information and detailed Product Information for lopinavir/r (Kaletra) are available from this link on the European Medicines Agency (EMA) website.
The Patient Information is a simplified summary: what the drug is, why it is used, results from studies and cautions including side effects.
The Product Information is a detailed technical summary that you can access as a PDF file by clicking the ‘Product Information’ tab. It describes more precisely how the drug works and how it is processed by your body. This includes, for example, reported food interaction studies in terms of calories or fat content. It includes more details of the study results and a full list of side effects and drug interactions.