Pregnancy Exposure Registry

There is a pregnancy exposure registry that monitors pregnancy outcomes in individuals exposed to TIVICAY or TIVICAY PD during pregnancy. Healthcare providers are encouraged to register patients by calling the Antiretroviral Pregnancy Registry (APR) at 1-800-258-4263.

Risk Summary

Data from a birth outcome surveillance study has identified an increased risk of neural tube defects when TIVICAY is administered at the time of conception compared with non-dolutegravir-containing antiretroviral regimens. As defects related to closure of the neural tube occur from conception through the first 6 weeks of gestation, embryos exposed to dolutegravir from the time of conception through the first 6 weeks of gestation are at potential risk. In addition, 2 of the 5 birth defects (encephalocele and iniencephaly), which have been observed with dolutegravir use, although often termed neural tube defects, may occur post-neural tube closure, the time period of which may be later than 6 weeks of gestation, but within the first trimester. Due to the limited understanding of the types of reported neural tube defects associated with dolutegravir use and because the date of conception may not be determined with precision, an alternative treatment to dolutegravir should be considered at the time of conception through the first trimester of pregnancy. Initiation of dolutegravir is not recommended in adolescents and adults actively trying to become pregnant unless there is no suitable alternative (see Data). 

In adolescents and adults of childbearing potential currently on dolutegravir who are actively trying to become pregnant, or if pregnancy is confirmed in the first trimester, assess the risks and benefits of continuing dolutegravir versus switching to another antiretroviral regimen and consider switching to an alternative regimen. Advise pregnant adolescents and adults of the potential risk to the embryo exposed to dolutegravir from the time of conception through the first trimester of pregnancy. A benefit-risk assessment should consider factors such as feasibility of switching, tolerability, ability to maintain viral suppression, and risk of transmission to the infant against the risk of neural tube defects [see Warnings and Precaution ( 5.3)] . 

There are insufficient human data on the use of dolutegravir during pregnancy to definitively assess a drug-associated risk for birth defects and miscarriage. The background risk for major birth defects for the indicated population is unknown. In the U.S. general population, the estimated background rate for major birth defects and miscarriage in clinically recognized pregnancies is 2% to 4% and 15% to 20%, respectively.

In animal reproduction studies, no evidence of adverse developmental outcomes was observed with dolutegravir at systemic exposures (AUC) less than (rabbits) and approximately 27 times (rats) the exposure in humans at the maximum recommended human dose (MRHD) of TIVICAY (see Data). 

Data

Human Data: In a birth outcome surveillance study in Botswana, there were 5 cases of neural tube defects reported out of 1,683 deliveries (0.3%) to women who were exposed to dolutegravir-containing regimens at the time of conception. In comparison, the neural tube defect prevalence rates were 0.1% (15/14,792 deliveries) in the non-dolutegravir arm and 0.08% (70/89,372 deliveries) in the HIV-uninfected arm. Five cases reported with dolutegravir included one case each of encephalocele, anencephaly, and iniencephaly, and 2 cases of myelomeningocele. In the same study, one infant out of 3,840 (0.03%) deliveries to women who started dolutegravir during pregnancy had a neural tube defect, compared with 3 infants out of 5,952 (0.05%) deliveries to women who started non-dolutegravir-containing regimens during pregnancy. 

Data analyzed to date from other sources including the APR, clinical trials, and postmarketing data are insufficient to address the risk of neural tube defects with dolutegravir. 

Data from the birth outcome surveillance study described above and postmarketing sources with more than 1,000 pregnancy outcomes from second and third trimester exposure in pregnant women indicate no evidence of increased risk of adverse birth outcomes.

Animal Data: Dolutegravir was administered orally at up to 1,000 mg per kg daily to pregnant rats and rabbits on Gestation Days 6 to 17 and 6 to 18, respectively, and to rats on Gestation Day 6 to Lactation/Postpartum Day 20. No adverse effects on embryo-fetal (rats and rabbits) or pre/postnatal (rats) development were observed at up to the highest dose tested. During organogenesis, systemic exposures (AUC) to dolutegravir in rabbits were less than the exposure in humans at the MRHD and in rats were approximately 27 times the exposure in humans at the MRHD. In the rat pre/postnatal development study, decreased body weight of the developing offspring was observed during lactation at a maternally toxic dose (approximately 27 times human exposure at the MRHD).