CMV: the other virus
Smart, T.
Gmhc Treatment Issues the Gay Men's Health Crisis Newsletter of Experimental Aids Therapies 10(3): 10-11
1996
ISSN/ISBN: 1077-1824 PMID: 11363389 Document Number: 469017
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the use of Gilead Sciences' intravenous drug, cidofovir, for people with CMV retinitis. The FDA also granted final marketing approval for ganciclovir eye implants sold by Chiron Vision. Chiron and Hoffmann-La Roche are co-marketing the device. The device costs $4,000, plus the cost of surgically fastening the device to the eye, which can be as much as $6,000. The device needs to be replaced every six months. The FDA advisory panel also recommended approving cidofovir as systemic treatment for new or relapsing CMV retinitis in people with AIDS. The drug is currently available free in an expanded access program or as a follow-up to trials. Participants must have experienced CMV relapse on either ganciclovir or foscarnet. Many fear that levels of the drug reaching the eye from oral doses are suboptimal and may induce drug resistance, although observations suggest that resistance is a rare occurrence.