BI's Viramune Safe In Pregnancy

In a study with seven pregnant HIV-infected women, BoehringerIngelheim's non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor Viramune (nevirapine) was deemed safe and did not produce maternal or infant related drug toxicity, it says.

After week 26 of the pregnancy, the women received Glaxo Wellcome's Retrovir (zidovudine) which has been shown to reduce transmission of HIV from mother to newborn from 25% to 8%.

One dose of Viramune was administered during labor, and each newborn received a subsequent dose between 48 and 72 hours later. Pharmacokinetic analysis demonstrated that this was enough to sustain drug levels within the infant's body through the first week of life. A new intervention trial to provide prophylaxis for the child will begin in February this year, says the company.