Atazanavir/r approved in Europefor children aged 6 to 18 years
26 August 2010. Related: Antiretrovirals, Treatment access, Paediatric care.
On 7 July 2010, the use of boosted atazanavir was extended in Europe to include children aged 618 years old, weighing >15kg. [1]
This was based on results from the open label multicentre PACTG 1020A study. [2]
The study included 182 naive and experienced paediatric patients aged 6 to 18 years old, using once daily atazanavir, with (n=141) or without (n=41) ritonavir, in combination with two NRTIs. The data from the 41 patients using ritonavir-boosting (n=16 naive and 25) supported this new paediatric indication.
The recommended atazanavir/ritonavir doses by body weight are 150 mg/100 mg (15kgless than 20 kg) and 200 mg/100 mg (20 kgless than 40 kg); with children weighing over 40 kg recommended to use the standard adult dose of 300 mg/100 mg.
Source: BMS press release (07 July 2010).http://www.pharmiweb.com/pressreleases/pressrel.asp?ROW_ID=24756