About VIRAMUNE® (nevirapine) for PMTCT

VIRAMUNE® is the brand name for nevirapine, an antiretroviral drug Boehringer Ingelheim has developed to help fight HIV/AIDS.

VIRAMUNE® administered alone or in combination with other antiretrovirals as followed:

• a single dose (one 200 mg tablet) to the mother during labour and
• a single oral dose (0,2ml/kg of suspension) to the infant within 72 hours after birth

can reduce the transmission rate of HIV-1 from mother-to-child (MTCT) in pregnant women who are not taking antiretroviral therapy at time of labour.

Nevirapine is included on the World Health Organization (WHO) Essential Drug List. The most recent WHO guidelines for the use of antiretrovirals in pMTCT define the criteria which should determine the most appropriate pMTCT regimen.

The VIRAMUNE® Donation Programme offers VIRAMUNE®  for prevention of mother to child transmission to be administered in accordance with these current WHO PMTCT treatment guidelines. Recent studies suggest that in women and infants previously treated with single-dose nevirapine for prevention of mother to child transmission of HIV-1, the efficacy of subsequent VIRAMUNE® containing combination therapy may be reduced.

VIRAMUNE® is also indicated for use in combination with other antiretroviral agents for the chronic treatment of HIV-1 infection. Resistant virus emerges rapidly and uniformly when VIRAMUNE® is administered chronically as monotherapy. Therefore, VIRAMUNE® should always be administered in combination with at least two additional antiretroviral agents for chronic treatment of HIV-1 infection.

Please see the following for more information:

• Guidelines for the Administration of VIRAMUNE® for PMTCT