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news.Roche's Valcyte, a potent oral treatment for an AIDS-related eye disease, has received positive recommendations in new treatment guidelines issued by the CDC, The National Institutes of Health, and the HIV Medicine Association/Infectious Diseases Society of America.
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The guidelines state that Valcyte (valganciclovir) is the preferred treatment for patients with peripheral lesions that are not immediately sight-threatening. Authors cite ease of administration and lack of surgical or catheter-associated complications as primary benefits of Valcyte versus other treatments, such as the ganciclovir intraocular implant, intravenous ganciclovir, or intravenous foscarnet.
The guidelines also state that the ganciclovir intraocular implant plus Valcyte is superior to once daily intravenous ganciclovir for preventing relapse of retinitis. Additionally, recommendations on the treatment of small peripheral cytomegalovirus (CMV) retinitis lesions in patients about to initiate antiretroviral therapy, state that these patients should undergo treatment until sufficient immune recovery occurs.
CMV retinitis is a potentially devastating viral disease which damages eyesight and can lead to blindness in patients with AIDS. Once CMV retinitis is diagnosed, treatment can be life-long and require long-term use of an indwelling catheter. As a potent oral treatment, Valcyte is more convenient for patients and does not cause problems associated with the use of a chronic indwelling catheter.
Approved by the FDA in March 2001 for the induction and maintenance treatment of CMV retinitis in patients with AIDS, Valcyte is the leading oral anti-CMV medication with efficacy equivalent to that of the previous gold standard therapy, IV ganciclovir.