On March 30, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a water-dispersible formulation of Triumeq for children weighing as little as 22 pounds (10 kilograms).

Triumeq is a coformulated regimen containing dolutegravir (sold individually as Tivicay), abacavir and lamivudine. It has been available for adults since 2014, but the three-drug combination hasn’t been available to children as a single dispersible tablet.

The dispersible tablet, which dissolves in water, allows young children to receive the medication without having to swallow a pill. It’s a common type of formulation for children. The FDA approved Tivicay alone as a dispersible tablet in 2020. Current pediatric guidelines recommend Tivicay PD plus two nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors as first-line pediatric treatment. Triumeq PD fits the bill.

“An obvious barrier to treatment is that for young children, tablets can be hard to swallow or unpleasant in taste,” Chip Lyons, president and CEO of the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, said in a ViiV Healthcare press release. “This presents a real challenge to many caregivers’ ability to administer lifesaving medicine. Today’s approval of a child-friendly formulation of a single-tablet regimen will help meet the urgent needs of this vulnerable population.”

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