What is HIV?

HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) is the virus that causes AIDS (Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome). HIV attacks your immune system, your body’s natural defense system that protects you from infection and disease.

Can HIV be cured?

HIV cannot be cured, but it can be treated with antiretroviral (ARV) medications. You and your healthcare professional will decide when you should begin treatment, and which medications will be best for your treatment regimen.

What are CD4 cells? What is my CD4 cell count?

CD4 cells are a critical part of the immune system. They are a type of white blood cell that fights infection. CD4 cells are also known as T cells. As HIV infects CD4 cells, the number of CD4 cells in the body goes down and the immune system gets weaker. Your healthcare professional will measure how healthy your immune system is by taking your CD4 cell count. This measures how many CD4 cells are in a small amount of your blood.

What is viral load?

Viral load is a measurement of the amount of HIV in your blood. As HIV progresses, the amount of HIV in the blood—the viral load—increases. One goal of HIV treatment is to lower your viral load.

What are antiretroviral medications (ARVs)?

Antiretrovirals (ARVs) are medications that are used in combination to treat HIV. This combination is called HAART therapy. HAART stands for Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy. HAART therapy is the current standard of care for HIV.

What is HAART?

HAART therapy is the current standard of care for treating HIV. HAART stands for Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy. It is a combination of 3 or more medications from at least 2 different classes of HIV medicines. Your healthcare professional will work with you to find the right combination of medicines for you.

What are the goals of HIV treatment?

Two important HIV treatment goals include increasing your CD4 cell count and keeping your viral load as low as possible. Your healthcare professional will do regular blood tests to measure your CD4 cell count and viral load.

What is resistance testing?

HIV resistance testing is done when a person taking HIV medicines has an unexpected increase in viral load. The HIV resistance test can tell whether HIV has become resistant to a particular medicine being used.

Why is it important to stay on treatment?

Taking medicines correctly can have a significant impact on how well your HIV medicines work. When a dose of medicine is skipped, it gives the virus the opportunity to copy itself and spread more rapidly (increasing the viral load). Keeping the viral load as low as possible may help slow the progression of HIV. Missing doses could also lead to resistance. This is when HIV mutates or changes and stops responding to the medicine.
Follow your healthcare professional’s instructions carefully.

What is PREZISTA^®?

PREZISTA^® (darunavir) is a prescription medicine. It is one treatment option in the class of HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) medicines known as protease inhibitors.

PREZISTA^® is always taken with and at the same time as ritonavir (Norvir^®), in combination with other HIV medicines for the treatment of HIV infection in adults. PREZISTA^® should also be taken with food.

• The use of other medicines active against HIV in combination with PREZISTA^®/r itonavir (Norvir^®) may increase your ability to fight HIV. Your healthcare professional will work with you to find the right combination of HIV medicines
• It is important that you remain under the care of your healthcare professional during treatment with PREZISTA^®

PREZISTA^® does not cure HIV infection or AIDS and you may continue to experience illnesses associated with HIV-1 infection, including opportunistic infections. You should remain under the care of a doctor when using PREZISTA^®.

Please read Important Safety Information below, and talk to your healthcare professional to learn if PREZISTA^® is right for you.

What is the most important PREZISTA^® Safety Information I should know?

• PREZISTA^® can interact with other medicines and cause serious side effects. See "Who should not take PREZISTA^®?"
• PREZISTA^® may cause liver problems. Some people taking PREZISTA^®, together with Norvir^® (ritonavir), have developed liver problems which may be life-threatening. Your healthcare professional should do blood tests before and during your combination treatment with PREZISTA^®. If you have chronic hepatitis B or C infection, your healthcare professional should check your blood tests more often because you have an increased chance of developing liver problems
• Tell your healthcare professional if you have any of these signs and symptoms of liver problems: dark (tea-colored) urine, yellowing of your skin or whites of your eyes, pale-colored stools (bowel movements), nausea, vomiting, pain or tenderness on your right side below your ribs, or loss of appetite
• PREZISTA^® may cause a severe or life-threatening skin reaction or rash. Sometimes these skin reactions and skin rashes can become severe and require treatment in a hospital. You should call your healthcare professional immediately if you develop a rash. However, stop taking PREZISTA^® and ritonavir combination treatment and call your healthcare professional immediately if you develop any skin changes with these symptoms: fever, tiredness, muscle or joint pain, blisters or skin lesions, mouth sores or ulcers, red or inflamed eyes, like “pink eye.” Rash occurred more often in patients taking PREZISTA^® and raltegravir together than with either drug separately, but was generally mild

You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Visit http://www.fda.gov/medwatch, or call 1-800-FDA-1088.

Please see additional PREZISTA^® Important Safety Information and full Product Information for more details.

Is PREZISTA^® right for me?

You and your healthcare professional will decide together if PREZISTA^® is right for you. Your healthcare professional will work with you to find the right combination of HIV medicines for you.

What should I tell my healthcare professional before starting PREZISTA^®?

Before taking PREZISTA^®, tell your healthcare professional if you have any medical conditions, including allergy to sulfa medicines, diabetes, liver problems (including hepatitis B or C), or hemophilia.

Tell your healthcare professional if you are pregnant or planning to become pregnant, or are breastfeeding.

• The effects of PREZISTA^® on pregnant women or their unborn babies are not known. You and your healthcare professional will need to decide if taking PREZISTA^® is right for you
• Do not breastfeed. It is not known if PREZISTA^® can be passed to your baby in your breast milk and whether it could harm your baby. Also, mothers with HIV should not breastfeed because HIV can be passed to your baby in the breast milk

How should PREZISTA^® be taken?

PREZISTA^® is always taken with and at the same time as another medication called Norvir^® (ritonavir),^* and in combination with other HIV medicines. PREZISTA^® should also be taken with food. It is important that you remain under the care of your healthcare professional during treatment with PREZISTA^®. For further dosing information, click here.

Please see additional PREZISTA^® Important Safety Information and full Product Information for more details.

What are the possible side effects of PREZISTA^®?

• High blood sugar, diabetes or worsening of diabetes, and increased bleeding in people with hemophilia have been reported in patients taking protease inhibitor medicines, including PREZISTA^®
• Changes in body fat have been seen in some patients taking HIV medicines, including PREZISTA^®. The cause and long-term health effects of these conditions are not known at this time
• Changes in your immune system can happen when you start taking HIV medicines. Your immune system may get stronger and begin to fight infections that have been hidden
• The most common side effects related to taking PREZISTA^® include diarrhea, nausea, rash, headache, stomach pain, and vomiting. This is not a complete list of all possible side effects. If you experience these or other side effects, talk to your healthcare professional. Do not stop taking PREZISTA^® or any other medicines without first talking to your healthcare professional
• This is not a complete list of all possible side effects. If you experience these or other side effects, talk to your healthcare professional. Do not stop taking PREZISTA^® or any other medicines without first talking to your healthcare professional

You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Visit http://www.fda.gov/medwatch, or call 1-800-FDA-1088.

Please see additional PREZISTA^® Important Safety Information and full Product Information for more details.

What should I do if I cannot afford to take PREZISTA^®?

The Patient Assistance Program and the Patient Savings Program are 2 programs that can help you if you cannot afford to take PREZISTA^®.

If you do not have the financial resources or prescription drug coverage you need to get PREZISTA^®, learn about the Patient Assistance Program in the Patient Materials section of this Web site.

If you have prescription coverage but you pay high out-of-pocket costs for your HIV medications, learn about the Patient Savings Program in the Patient Materials section of this Web site.

*PREZISTA^® taken with Norvir^® may be written as PREZISTA^®/Norvir^® or PREZISTA^®/r itonavir or PREZISTA^®/r . This Web site uses PREZISTA^®/Norvir^®.