While effective viral suppression with antiretroviral therapy has been proven to substantially reduce the risk of sexual transmission, a residual risk cannot be excluded. Precautions to prevent transmission should be taken in accordance with national guidelines.

Virologic failure and development of resistance

Eviplera has not been eva luated in patients with previous virologic failure to any other antiretroviral therapy. There is not sufficient data to justify the use in patients with prior NNRTI failure. Resistance testing and/or historical resistance data should guide the use of Eviplera (see section 5.1).

In the pooled efficacy analysis from the two Phase III clinical studies (C209 [ECHO] and C215 [THRIVE]) through 96 weeks, patients treated with emtricitabine/tenofovir disoproxil fumarate + rilpivirine with a baseline viral load > 100,000 HIV-1 RNA copies/mL had a greater risk of virologic failure (17.6% with rilpivirine versus 7.6% with efavirenz) compared to patients with a baseline viral load ≤ 100,000 HIV-1 RNA copies/mL (5.9% with rilpivirine versus 2.4% with efavirenz). The virologic failure rate in patients treated with emtricitabine/tenofovir disoproxil fumarate + rilpivirine at week 48 and week 96 was 9.5% and 11.5% respectively, and 4.2% and 5.1% in the emtricitabine/tenofovir disoproxil fumarate + efavirenz arm. The difference in the rate of new virologic failures from the week 48 to week 96 analysis between rilpivirine and efavirenz arms was not statistically significant. Patients with a baseline viral load > 100,000 HIV-1 RNA copies/mL who experienced virologic failure exhibited a higher rate of treatment emergent resistance to the NNRTI class. More patients who failed virologically on rilpivirine than who failed virologically on efavirenz developed lamivudine/emtricitabine associated resistance (see section 5.1).

Cardiovascular

At supra-therapeutic doses (75 mg and 300 mg once daily), rilpivirine has been associated with prolongation of the QTc interval of the electrocardiogram (ECG) (see sections 4.5, 4.8, and 5.2). Rilpivirine at the recommended dose of 25 mg once daily is not associated with a clinically relevant effect on QTc. Eviplera should be used with caution when co-administered with medicinal products with a known risk of Torsade de Pointes.

Co-administration of other medicinal products

Eviplera should not be administered concomitantly with other medicinal products containing emtricitabine, tenofovir disoproxil fumarate or other cytidine analogues, such as lamivudine (see section 4.5). Eviplera should not be administered concomitantly with rilpivirine hydrochloride unless needed for dose adjustment with rifabutin (see sections 4.2 and 4.5). Eviplera should not be administered concomitantly with adefovir dipivoxil.

Co-administration of Eviplera and didanosine: is not recommended since exposure to didanosine is significantly increased following co-administration with tenofovir disoproxil fumarate that may increase the risk of didanosine-related adverse reactions (see section 4.5). Rarely, pancreatitis and lactic acidosis, sometimes fatal, have been reported.

Renal impairment

Eviplera is not recommended for patients with moderate or severe renal impairment (creatinine clearance < 50 mL/min). Patients with moderate or severe renal impairment require a dose interval adjustment of emtricitabine and tenofovir disoproxil fumarate that cannot be achieved with the combination tablet (see sections 4.2 and 5.2). Use of Eviplera should be avoided with concurrent or recent use of a nephrotoxic medicinal product (see section 4.5). If concomitant use of Eviplera and nephrotoxic agents is unavoidable, renal function must be monitored weekly (see section 4.5).

Cases of acute renal failure after initiation of high dose or multiple non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) have been reported in patients treated with tenofovir disoproxil fumarate and with risk factors for renal dysfunction. If Eviplera is co-administered with an NSAID, renal function should be monitored adequately.

Renal failure, renal impairment, elevated creatinine, hypophosphataemia and proximal tubulopathy (including Fanconi syndrome) have been reported with the use of tenofovir disoproxil fumarate in clinical practice (see section 4.8).

It is recommended that creatinine clearance is calculated in all patients prior to initiating therapy with Eviplera and renal function (creatinine clearance and serum phosphate) is also monitored after two to four weeks of treatment, after three months of treatment and every three to six months thereafter in patients without renal risk factors. In patients at risk for renal impairment, a more frequent monitoring of renal function is required.

If serum phosphate is < 1.5 mg/dL (0.48 mmol/L) or creatinine clearance is decreased to < 50 mL/min in any patient receiving Eviplera, renal function should be re-eva luated within one week, including measurements of blood glucose, blood potassium and urine glucose concentrations (see section 4.8, proximal tubulopathy). Since Eviplera is a combination product and the dosing interval of the individual components cannot be altered, treatment with Eviplera must be interrupted in patients with confirmed creatinine clearance decreased to < 50 mL/min or decreases in serum phosphate to < 1.0 mg/dL (0.32 mmol/L). Interrupting treatment with Eviplera should also be considered in case of progressive decline of renal function when no other cause has been identified. Where discontinuation of therapy with one of the components of Eviplera is indicated or where dose modification is necessary, separate preparations of emtricitabine, rilpivirine hydrochloride and tenofovir disoproxil fumarate are available.

Bone effects

A dual energy x-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) substudy for both the Phase III studies (C209 and C215) investigated the effect of rilpivirine as compared with control, overall and by background regimen on changes in whole body bone mineral density (BMD) and bone mineral content (BMC) at week 48 and week 96. DEXA substudies showed that small but statistically significant decreases from baseline in whole body BMD and BMC were similar for rilpivirine and control at week 48 and week 96. There was no difference in the change from baseline in whole body BMD or BMC for rilpivirine compared with control, in the overall population or in those patients treated with a backbone regimen including tenofovir disoproxil fumarate.

In a 144-week controlled clinical study that compared tenofovir disoproxil fumarate with stavudine in combination with lamivudine and efavirenz in antiretroviral-naïve patients, small decreases in BMD of the hip and spine were observed in both treatment groups. Decreases in BMD of spine and changes in bone biomarkers from baseline were significantly greater in the tenofovir disoproxil fumarate treatment group at 144 weeks. Decreases in BMD of hip were significantly greater in this group until 96 weeks. However, there was no increased risk of fractures or evidence for clinically relevant bone abnormalities over 144 weeks.

Bone abnormalities (infrequently contributing to fractures) may be associated with proximal renal tubulopathy (see section 4.8). If bone abnormalities are suspected then appropriate consultation should be obtained.

Patients with HIV and hepatitis B or C virus co-infection

Patients with chronic hepatitis B or C treated with antiretroviral therapy are at an increased risk for severe and potentially fatal hepatic adverse reactions.

Physicians should refer to current HIV treatment guidelines for the optimal management of HIV infection in patients co-infected with HBV.

In case of concomitant antiviral therapy for hepatitis B or C, please refer also to the relevant Summary of Product Characteristics for these medicinal products.

The safety and efficacy of Eviplera have not been established for the treatment of chronic HBV infection. Emtricitabine and tenofovir individually and in combination have shown activity against HBV in pharmacodynamic studies (see section 5.1).

Discontinuation of Eviplera therapy in patients co-infected with HIV and HBV may be associated with severe acute exacerbations of hepatitis. Patients co-infected with HIV and HBV who discontinue Eviplera should be closely monitored with both clinical and laboratory follow-up for at least several months after stopping treatment. If appropriate, resumption of hepatitis B therapy may be warranted. In patients with advanced liver disease or cirrhosis, treatment discontinuation is not recommended since post-treatment exacerbation of hepatitis may lead to hepatic decompensation.

Liver disease

The safety and efficacy of Eviplera have not been established in patients with significant underlying liver disorders. The pharmacokinetics of emtricitabine have not been studied in patients with hepatic impairment. Emtricitabine is not significantly metabolised by liver enzymes, so the impact of liver impairment should be limited. No dose adjustment is required for rilpivirine hydrochloride in patients with mild or moderate hepatic impairment (CPT Score A or B). Rilpivirine hydrochloride has not been studied in patients with severe hepatic impairment (CPT Score C). The pharmacokinetics of tenofovir have been studied in patients with hepatic impairment and no dose adjustment is required in these patients.

It is unlikely that a dose adjustment would be required for Eviplera in patients with mild or moderate hepatic impairment (see sections 4.2 and 5.2). Eviplera should be used with caution in patients with moderate hepatic impairment (CPT Score B) and is not recommended in patients with severe hepatic impairment (CPT Score C).

Patients with pre-existing liver dysfunction, including chronic active hepatitis, have an increased frequency of liver function abnormalities during combination antiretroviral therapy (CART) and should be monitored according to standard practice. If there is evidence of worsening liver disease in such patients, interruption or discontinuation of treatment must be considered.

Lipodystrophy

CART has been associated with the redistribution of body fat (lipodystrophy) in HIV patients. The long-term consequences of these events are currently unknown. Knowledge about the mechanism is incomplete. A connection between visceral lipomatosis and protease inhibitors and lipoatrophy and nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors has been hypothesised. A higher risk of lipodystrophy has been associated with individual factors such as older age, and with drug related factors such as longer duration of antiretroviral treatment and associated metabolic disturbances. Clinical examination should include eva luation for physical signs of fat redistribution. Consideration should be given to the measurement of fasting serum lipids and blood glucose. Lipid disorders should be managed as clinically appropriate (see section 4.8).

Mitochondrial dysfunction

Nucleoside and nucleotide analogues have been demonstrated in vitro and in vivo to cause a variable degree of mitochondrial damage. There have been reports of mitochondrial dysfunction in HIV negative infants exposed in utero and/or postnatally to nucleoside analogues. The main adverse reactions reported are haematological disorders (anaemia, neutropenia) and metabolic disorders (hyperlactataemia, hyperlipasaemia). These events are often transitory. Some late-onset neurological disorders have been reported (hypertonia, convulsion, abnormal behaviour). Whether the neurological disorders are transient or permanent is currently unknown. Any child exposed in utero to nucleoside and nucleotide analogues, even HIV negative children, should have clinical and laboratory follow-up and should be fully investigated for possible mitochondrial dysfunction in case of relevant signs or symptoms. These findings do not affect current national recommendations to use antiretroviral therapy in pregnant women to prevent vertical transmission of HIV.

Immune Reactivation Syndrome

In HIV infected patients with severe immune deficiency at the time of institution of CART, an inflammatory reaction to asymptomatic or residual opportunistic pathogens may arise and cause serious clinical conditions, or aggravation of symptoms. Typically, such reactions have been observed within the first few weeks or months of initiation of CART. Relevant examples are cytomegalovirus retinitis, generalised and/or focal mycobacterial infections, and Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia. Any inflammatory symptoms should be eva luated and treatment instituted when necessary.

Autoimmune disorders (such as Graves' disease) have also been reported to occur in the setting of immune reactivation; however, the reported time to onset is more variable and these events can occur many months after initiation of treatment.

Osteonecrosis

Although the aetiology is considered to be multifactorial (including corticosteroid use, alcohol consumption, severe immunosuppression, higher body mass index), cases of osteonecrosis have been reported particularly in patients with advanced HIV disease and/or long-term exposure to CART. Patients should be advised to seek medical advice if they experience joint aches and pain, joint stiffness or difficulty in movement.

Older people

Eviplera has not been studied in patients over the age of 65 years. Older patients are more likely to have decreased renal function, therefore caution should be exercised when treating older patients with Eviplera (see sections 4.2 and 5.2).

Excipients

Eviplera contains lactose monohydrate. Consequently, patients with rare hereditary problems of galactose intolerance, the Lapp lactase deficiency, or glucose-galactose malabsorption should not take this medicinal product.

Eviplera contains a colourant called sunset yellow aluminium lake (E110), which may c