Agenerase® (Amprenavir)
Who should take this?
Use of amprenavir has been studied in adults and children older than four years old. The liquid form of the drug should not be taken by:
- Infants and children younger than four years old
- Pregnant women
- People with liver or kidney failure
- People taking disulfiram (Antabuse) for alcohol abuse
- People taking metronidazole (Flagyl), which is an antibiotic
How is it taken? / Dosage
Amprenavir is taken by mouth in a gelatin capsule or liquid. Vitamin E is added to amprenavir capsules to help the body absorb and use the drug better. Taking more vitamin E as a supplement should be avoided.
The gelatin capsules should be kept at room temperature. When they get too warm, they melt. People who take the liquid form should not drink alcohol. The liquid version contains an ingredient called propylene glycol. The liquid form should only be used when a person cannot take amprenavir capsules or other antiretrovirals.
Different doses of amprenavir are used in different drug combinations to fight HIV. To be effective and to avoid drug resistance by the virus, it is important to take antiretrovirals as the doctor directs.
Wait an hour before or after taking Agenerase before taking an antacid.
Side Effects
Amprenavir may cause:
- Abdominal pain
- Diarrhea
- Nausea
- Numbness around the mouth
- Rash
- Vomiting
A few people may get serious skin reactions. Amprenavir is a sulfa drug. People who are allergic to sulfa drugs should tell their doctors before taking Agenerase.
Some protease inhibitors raise cholesterol levels. This doesn’t appear so with amprenavir.
Drug Interactions
Amprenavir can interact with other drugs or supplements. These reactions may mean that you are getting too little or too much of the drugs you are taking. A person taking Agenerase should be sure that all doctors or pharmacists he or she sees know all the drugs being taken.
When taking Agenerase, special care needs to be taken when also taking drugs used to treat:
- Acid indigestion. Amprenavir should be taken one hour apart from antacids.
- Allergies
- Depression. The herb St. John’s wort, which is sometimes taken for depression, lowers the amount of some protease inhibitors in the blood. Do not take it with amprenavir.
- Erectile dysfunction, such as Viagra
- Fungus infections
- Heart rhythm irregularities (antiarrhythmics)
- High cholesterol (statin drugs)
- HIV (other retroviral drugs). Amprenavir works better if it is taken with the reverse transcriptase inhibitor abacavir (Ziagen®). Taking Ritonavir (Norvir®) increases blood levels of amprenavir. The FDA has approved ritonavir-boosted amprenavir. On the other hand, an hour should separate taking amprenavir from taking didanosine (ddI or Videx®).
- Migraine headaches
- Sedatives. Watch for signs of being too sedate when taking amprenavir with buprenorphine.
- Tuberculosis
Some birth control pills may not work when a woman is also taking amprenavir.
Taking amprenavir with methadone can lower blood levels of both drugs.
Resistance
As HIV copies itself and multiplies, changes sometimes happen in the new HIV copies. These are called mutations. When the virus changes, it is sometimes able to resist certain antiretroviral drugs. This is called drug resistance. Sometimes when the virus develops a resistance to one drug, it will also resist other antiretroviral drugs. This is called cross-resistance.
When a person with HIV develops a resistance to other protease inhibitors, he or she may not be cross-resistant to amprenavir.
A drug resistance can develop quickly. It is important that a person on antiretroviral drug therapy take all prescribed drugs as instructed and on schedule.
