The Associated Press
Federal regulators have approved a new four-in-one combination pill to treat HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.

The Food and Drug Administration approved sales of Genvoya (pronounced jehn-VOY’ah) from Gilead Sciences, the top maker of HIV medicines.

The drug combines three existing Gilead HIV drugs – Vitekta, Tybost and Emtriva – with a new version of tenofovir, the active ingredient in Gilead’s widely used Viread. A chemical cousin, called tenofovir alafenamide, gets more of the drug into cells where HIV copies itself, reducing drug levels in the bloodstream and with that, side effects including kidney damage and reduced bone density. Fatal side effects, including severe liver problems, are still possible.

The annual list price for Genvoya will be $31,362, about the same as Gilead’s older four-in-one HIV drug, Stribild.

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