Descovy dosage, forms, and strengths

Descovy is a brand-name prescription drug used to treat and prevent HIV-1 infections. HIV, or human immunodeficiency virus, is the virus that causes HIV/AIDS, a potentially fatal infection that attacks and weakens the immune system. Descovy combines two drugs, emtricitabine (also called FTC) and tenofovir alafenamide (TAF), which block the ability of the virus to reproduce and grow. This reduces the amount of virus in the body. Descovy is taken as a tablet with or without food once per day with one or more other HIV/AIDS medications.

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Descovy forms and strengths

Each Descovy tablet contains 200 mg of emtricitabine and 25 mg of tenofovir alafenamide.

Descovy dosage for adults

For both HIV treatment and prophylaxis (prevention), Descovy is taken as a single tablet once per day along with other HIV/AIDS drugs. 

Source: Epocrates

Descovy dosage for the treatment of HIV infection

Descovy is FDA approved to treat HIV-1 infections. Emtricitabine and tenofovir, the two drugs combined in Descovy, prevent the virus from making a DNA copy of itself. When this happens, new viruses can’t be produced and the amount of HIV-1 virus in the body (the “viral load”) goes down. This gives a person’s immune system time to recover. 

Drugs that work like emtricitabine and tenofovir are called nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors, or NRTIs. All HIV infections are treated with a drug protocol called antiretroviral therapy, or ART. This protocol recommends taking at least two NRTIs daily combined with at least one other kind of antiretroviral drug. Other drugs used together with NRTIs include non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTIs) such as Edurant (rilpivirine) or efavirenz; protease inhibitors such as ritonavir, atazanavir, or Aptivus (tipranavir); or integrase inhibitors such as Tivicay (dolutegravir) or Vitekta (elvitegravir). Descovy supplies the two recommended NRTIs in this treatment regimen in one combination tablet. 

• Standard dosage for HIV-1 infection: One tablet per day

• Maximum dosage for HIV-1 infection: One tablet per day

Descovy dosage for the prevention of HIV infection

Descovy is also FDA approved to prevent HIV in people who are at higher risk of infection from sex or injection drug use. This kind of HIV prevention is commonly called PrEP.  An HIV test is performed before starting Descovy and is checked every 3 months while taking it.

Descovy is not used for HIV prevention in people who are assigned female at birth and have vaginal sex because its efficacy has not been established.

Dosages for HIV-1 prevention are the same as they are for HIV-1 treatment. One or more other antiretroviral drugs will be taken in addition to Descovy.

• Standard dosage for HIV-1 pre-exposure prophylaxis: One tablet per day

• Maximum dosage for HIV-1 pre-exposure prophylaxis: One tablet per day

Descovy dosage for children

Descovy is FDA approved to treat or prevent HIV-1 infection in children and adolescents. There is no age cutoff, but Descovy is not approved for children weighing less than 25 kilograms (55 pounds) for treatment of HIV infection or for adolescents weighing less than 35 kg (66 pounds) for HIV prevention. As with adults, other antiretroviral agents will be given to children as part  of an overall treatment regimen.

For children weighing less than 35 kg, Descovy as part of a comprehensive treatment for HIV will not include a certain family of antiretroviral drugs called protease inhibitors. Because of the risk for side effects, they will also not be prescribed cobicistat, a drug often combined with ART drugs to slow down the body’s metabolism of antiretroviral drugs.

• Standard dosage for HIV-1 infection in children weighing 25 kg or more: One tablet per day

• Maximum dosage for HIV-1 infection in children weighing 25 kg or more: One tablet per day

• Standard dosage for HIV-1 pre-exposure prophylaxis in adolescents weighing 35 kg or more: One tablet per day

• Maximum dosage for HIV-1 pre-exposure prophylaxis in adolescents weighing 35 kg or more: One tablet per day

    Source: Epocrates, PDR

Descovy dosage restrictions

Descovy has no dosage adjustments for age or pre-existing conditions. It is the same dose for everyone. 

That doesn’t mean Descovy is right for everyone. Descovy is never prescribed to people who are allergic to the drug or who have severe kidney disease. Close monitoring is required for people with mild or moderate kidney disease, liver disease, obesity, or hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. People who have been taking this class of medication for a long time or who are taking other medicines that may affect the kidneys should also have close follow-up. For the prevention of HIV, Descovy is not prescribed to people who may have an early or acute HIV infection.

Descovy dosage for pets 

It is very unlikely that Descovy will be prescribed to pets. However, both emtricitabine and tenofovir can be considered options for the veterinary treatment of feline Immunodeficiency virus (FIV), a virus very similar to HIV, or feline leukemia virus (FeLV), another retrovirus. However, antiviral treatment for FIV or FeLV is not commonly used until the cat is symptomatic. When antiretroviral agents are used, veterinarians are more likely to use zidovudine or other NRTIs before trying emtricitabine or tenofovir.

How to take Descovy

Take Descovy by mouth every day as instructed by a healthcare provider. Descovy can be taken with a meal or on an empty stomach.

• The prescribing healthcare professional will tell you how much medicine to use.

• Read and follow the patient instructions that come with this medicine. 

• This medicine is taken with other medicines to treat HIV infection. Take all medicines that are prescribed as part of the overall treatment.

• Do not stop using this medicine, change the dose, or skip doses without getting medical advice from a healthcare professional. If Descovy or other prescribed HIV medicines are stopped even for a brief time, the virus may develop drug resistance and become harder to treat. 

• Contact a doctor or pharmacist when Descovy is running low to avoid running out.

• Store Descovy tablets tightly closed in the original bottle or blister pack at room temperature (68°F to 77°F).

Descovy dosage FAQs

What happens if I miss a dose of Descovy?

Take a missed dose as soon as it’s remembered unless it’s nearly time for the next dose. In that case, take the next dose as scheduled.  

Do not miss doses. HIV medications need to be taken correctly 95% of the time in order to reduce the virus to undetectable levels. Missed doses could allow the virus to partly recover and, worse, develop drug resistance. If Descovy is taken to prevent HIV, missed doses raise the risk of HIV infection. If missed doses are a problem, talk to a pharmacist or healthcare provider about reminder tools such as telephone apps, alarms, or bottle cap alarms.

How do I stop taking Descovy?

There are no withdrawal symptoms when Descovy is stopped.. If Descovy is stopped without guidance from a healthcare provider, the HIV infection may become worse. People who also have hepatitis B  can experience a significant worsening of that infection when Descovy is stopped. Anyone prescribed Descovy should not stop taking this drug except under the instruction of a healthcare provider.

A healthcare professional may stop Descovy for certain serious side effects such as allergic reactions, imbalances in blood chemistry, a severe decline in renal function, inflammation of the liver or pancreas, or a significant loss of bone mineral density (osteoporosis). Some people may experience less serious but more common side effects of Descovy and want to switch to a different treatment. 

Some serious side effects are due to the recovery of the immune system after starting antiretroviral therapy. This condition is called immune reconstitution syndrome. Symptoms may include swelling, pain, and fever as the immune system begins to attack some of the opportunistic infections characteristic of AIDS. Underlying autoimmune conditions could also suddenly flare-up. These symptoms and infections must be treated, but people with immune reconstitution syndrome should generally continue their antiretroviral medications.

For anyone who needs to stop taking Descovy, there are a  number of effective drugs that can take its place. The recommended HIV/AIDS drug regimen includes two NRTIs like emtricitabine or tenofovir alafenamide. Other available NRTI medications include zidovudine, lamivudine, abacavir, and tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF).

What is the maximum dosage for Descovy?

Do not take more than one Descovy tablet per day.

What interacts with Descovy?

Drug interactions can be confusing. There are many ways drugs can affect each other. For Descovy, which is a two-drug combination tablet (emtricitabine/tenofovir alafenamide), most drug interactions can be understood in four broad categories. 

• In one category are drugs that can damage the kidneys. When drugs that poison the kidneys, called nephrotoxic drugs, are combined, there’s an increased risk for kidney damage. Drugs like non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), aspirin and aspirin-like drugs, aminoglycoside antibiotics, platinum-based anticancer drugs, and some antivirals are either avoided or used very carefully with Descovy.

• A second category involves drug metabolism. When Descovy is taken with certain other drugs,  concentrations of one or both drugs in the body may go up, increasing the risk of side effects and kidney damage. These drugs include macrolide antibiotics, polymyxin antibiotics, and others.

• A third category  involves drugs that decrease the concentration of tenofovir in the body. This reduces Descovy’s ability to fight off HIV and increases the risk of drug-resistant virus. Many of these drugs are contraindicated with Descovy, such as phenobarbital, carbamazepine, phenytoin, rifampin, and St. John’s wort. There are also similar drugs that are best avoided including rifabutin, rifapentine, and oxcarbazepine. 

• A fourth category involves other HIV/AIDS drugs that aren’t supposed to be combined with emtricitabine or tenofovir. Healthcare professionals who treat HIV/AIDS are familiar with combinations of antiretroviral agents that can be used safely and those to avoid.

Is it safe to take Descovy during pregnancy?

Descovy may be prescribed to people who are HIV-positive and pregnant. Treatment usually begins immediately to prevent HIV from being transmitted to the fetus. There is no evidence that emtricitabine or tenofovir will harm a fetus. Healthcare providers believe the benefits of preventing HIV transmission to the fetus outweigh the risks of taking Descovy.

Breastfeeding is not recommended for people who are HIV-positive because the virus may be transmitted through breastmilk.

Related resources for Descovy dosages:

• Descovy, Epocrates

• Descovy prescribing information, U.S. National Library of Medicine

• Efficacy of antiretroviral chemotherapy for retrovirus infected cats: What does the current literature tell us?  Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery

• Efficacy of antiviral drugs against feline immunodeficiency virus, Veterinary Sciences

• Emtricitabine/tenofovir alafenamide drug summary, Digital Prescriber’s Reference

• HIV antiretroviral therapy, StatPearls

• Reverse transcriptase inhibitors, StatPearls