Combination drug

A medication containing two or more active ingredients intended to be used together. Its ingredients may act on the same condition through complementary mechanisms or address multiple conditions.

Antiretroviral therapy: Treatment of HIV infection with medicines that suppress viral replication. Combining antiretroviral agents helps suppress HIV while limiting the emergence of drug resistance.
Polypharmacy: The use of multiple medications by one person, often concurrently. A combination drug packages multiple active agents within the broader practice of using several medicines.
Single-ingredient drug: A medication whose active pharmaceutical ingredient is one drug substance. It contrasts with a product that places multiple active ingredients in one medication.
Medication adherence: The extent to which a person takes medication as prescribed. Reducing pill burden can make multi-drug treatment easier to follow.
Artemisinin-based combination therapy: Malaria treatment pairing an artemisinin derivative with a longer-acting antimalarial drug. This established malaria regimen pairs fast parasite reduction with protection against treatment failure.
Pharmacokinetic interaction: An interaction in which one drug changes another drug’s absorption, distribution, metabolism, or excretion. Ingredients can alter each other’s concentrations, making the combined dose behave differently.
Co-packaged drug: Two or more separate medicines supplied together in one package for coordinated use. Co-packaging coordinates treatment without combining ingredients in a single dosage form.
Pill burden: The number and complexity of pills a person must take as part of treatment. Combining ingredients can reduce the number of separate pills required.
Co-trimoxazole: An antibiotic combining trimethoprim and sulfamethoxazole. Its two antibiotics block successive steps in bacterial folate synthesis.
Pharmacodynamic interaction: An interaction in which drugs combine or oppose their effects on the body without necessarily changing concentrations. Complementary or opposing effects can determine whether ingredients work well together.

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