What is Tenofovir Disoproxil Fumarate (TDF)?

Also known as tenofovir DF, this drug is primarily used to treat HIV in adult patients and children two years and older.

The medication is part of a drug class known as nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTI), which are often used in conjunction with other anti-HIV drugs.

According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, tenofovir DF also works to treat hepatitis B and is approved by the FDA to treat chronic HBV infection in adult patients. Medications with tenofovir disproxil fumarate include:

• Atripla
• Complera
• Stribild
• Truvada
• Viread

How Does Tenofovir Disoproxil Fumarate Work?

Tenofovir DF is an antiretroviral medication, which works by preventing the HIV virus from replicating itself, according to Healthline. This prevents HIV patients from transmitting the virus to someone else, and can help strengthen the immune system.

It also lowers the chances of HIV complications, such as new infections or cancer, and can generally improve the patient’s quality of life. While not a cure for HIV, tenofovir disproxil fumarate can help patients live a relatively normal life.

Each of the medications listed above is manufactured by Gilead Sciences, and have helped numerous patients. However, tenofovir DF medications have recently been linked to serious bone and kidney disease allegedly due to their defective design.

It has been alleged that tenofovir disproxil fumarate medications require patients’ bodies to absorb a lot of the medication before the antiretroviral takes effect, according to WebMD.

Does Tenofovir Disproxil Fumarate Have Any Serious Side Effects?

According to a Truveda lawsuit filed in July 2018, tenofovir disproxil fumarate medications have low bioavailability and are not absorbed easily into the body. This means that these HIV drugs need to be “ingested at high doses in order to provide the promised antiviral effect.”

The lawsuit also asserted that large amounts of the drug are deposited into the bones and kidneys, which can cause a multitude of complications including, but not limited to:

• Bone mineral density loss
• Bone necrosis (bone death)
• Bone fracture
• Osteopenia
• Osteoporosis
• Kidney toxicity
• Chronic kidney disease
• Kidney damage
• Kidney failure

These complications can be devastating to patients who are already fighting HIV. The lawsuit alleges Gilead Sciences was aware of the bioavailability problem, but failed to warn the public, and later released a line of similar medications.

The lawsuit further alleges that Gilead deliberately withheld the drugs from the public until the company Gilead “had exhausted the profits it could earn from Truvada.”

Are New HIV Medications Safe?

Tenofovir alafenamide (TAF) is a nucleotide reverse transcriptase inhibitor and a new form of tenofovir, according to Wikipedia. In contrast to the older tenofovir disoproxil fumarate, TAF reportedly has greater antiviral treatment ability and greater bioavailability for patients.

More specifically, these medications purportedly are easier to absorb into the lymphoid tissues. The U.S. Food a d Drug Administration (FDA) approved the drug in November 2016 under the drug name Vemlidy.

The National Institutes of Health reports that clinical studies have found that TDF medications are associated with a higher incidence of bone and kidney complications compared to TAF drugs. Drugs.com says that reported side effects include abdominal pain, depression, nausea, vomiting, decreased bone mineral density.