Maker:
Janssen
What it does:
Treats chronic hepatitis C infection
Dosage:
150mg capsule taken once daily with food. Olysio has also been approved for use in combination with peginterferon alfa and ribavirin (Copegus, Rebetol, and others) and Pegasys.
Drug interactions, precautions, & recommendations:
Do not take Olysio in combination with ribavirin if you or your partner are pregnant or plan to become pregnant as birth defects or fetal death can result. No human data on risk of using Olysio alone in pregnancy, but fetal toxicity was observed in mice, so caution is advised. Avoid using cobicistat-containing products and HIV protease inhibitors, with or without ritonavir (Norvir). Also, do not combine with amiodarone (Cordarone, Nexterone, and Pacerone), carbamazepine, fluconazole, dexamethasone, rifampin, cyclosporine, ledipasvir, NNRTIs, Priftin, Ketek, cisapride, and herbal products such as milk thistle and St. John’s Wort. Use with caution if taking Tegretol, Mycobutin, Rifadin, Norvir, Kaletra, Biaxin; antifungal meds; antibiotics like Priftin, Ketek, erythromycin; the corticosteroid dexamethasone (Maxidex, Ozurdex, Baycadron); generic cisapride; or some anticonvulsants.
The Federal Drug Administration issued the following label warning to be added to all hepatitis C (HCV) direct-acting antivirals (DAAs): Risk of hepatitis B virus (HBV) reactivation in patients connected with HCV and HBV has been reported, in some cases resulting in fulminant hepatitis, hepatic failure, and death.
Side effects:
Most serious: liver failure, severe rash, seriously low heart rate (in combination with sofosbuvir and amiodarone)
Other: fatigue, headache, nausea, itching, rash, photosensitivity
