Pharmacokinetic enhancement in HIV antiretroviral therapy: a comparison of ritonavir and cobicistat.

Inhibition of the cytochrome p450 3A4 enzyme system leads to increases in plasma concentrations of coadministered antiretroviral agents - a concept known as pharmacokinetic boosting. Ritonavir and cobicistat are potent inhibitors of cytochrome p450 3A4. Ritonavir was initially developed as an HIV protease inhibitor, but is currently used primarily as a pharmacokinetic boosting agent for other HIV and hepatitis C protease inhibitors. Cobicistat is a boosting agent for the integrase inhibitor elvitegravir and the protease inhibitors atazanavir and darunavir. Phase III data showed that atazanavir + cobicistat + tenofovir/emtricitabine had non-inferior efficacy and resulted in similar CD4 T-cell count increases to atazanavir + ritonavir + tenofovir/emtricitabine. The tolerability, gastrointestinal, and lipid profile of the cobicistat-containing regimen was comparable with the ritonavir-containing regimen. Primary HIV protease resistance mutations were not selected in either ritonavir or cobicistat arm virologic failures. Cobicistat-containing regimens have consistently shown higher serum creatinine increases and creatinine clearance decreases compared with ritonavir, and accurate assessment of glomerular filtration in the presence of cobicistat could only be made by using exogenous markers such as iohexol. Drugs contraindicated with cobicistat are consistent with those contraindicated with ritonavir-containing protease inhibitor regimens with respect to cytochrome p450 3A interactions. Information in this review may help clinicians assess the benefits and limitations of currently available pharmacokinetic enhancers when selecting the most appropriate treatment for their patients.