Stribild: a review of component characteristics and combination drug efficacy

Numerous methods have been devised to combat human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) replication and disease progression. Composed of an integrase strand transfer inhibitor, a pharmacoenhancer, and two reverse transcriptase inhibitors, Stribild is a relatively new combination HIV drug formulated for once-a-day dosing.

Relevant information, original research articles and reviews, were gathered primarily through the use of the PubMed database. The search was conducted without date restrictions in order to collect both historical and recent information concerning HIV, individual drugs, and combinations for a thorough overview.

Stribild, when taken with food, provides therapeutic drug concentrations as seen through comparison with the respective individual or boosted individual drugs. Stribild non-inferiority has been shown when compared to other HIV drug combinations, ritonavir-boosted atazanavir or efavirenz each with a tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF) and emtricitabine (FTC) backbone. The co-formulation also retained high viral suppression in patients switching from other regimens, such as efavirenz/TDF/FTC, raltegravir/TDF/FTC, or various ritonavir-boosted protease inhibitors with TDF/FTC. The elvitegravir and cobicistat combination was unaffected by moderate hepatic impairment; however, hepatic and renal function along with changes in bone mineral density should be monitored closely. Stribild presented with relatively few side effect occurrences, but drug interactions may pose a larger problem for continuous therapy.

Stribild provides viral suppression, comparable to other combination HIV drugs through review of non-inferiority and regimen simplification studies, with minimal adverse effects. Although the breadth of Stribild effectiveness has begun to unfold, studies are lacking in older patients as well as adolescents.