HIV drugs approved as of August 2003.Here are all the antiretroviral drugs approved in the U.S. at the end of July 2003. We list them by drug class: * NRTIs (nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor Noun 1. nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor - an antiviral drug used against HIV; is incorporated into the DNA of the virus and stops the building process; results in incomplete DNA that cannot create a new virus; often used in combination with other drugs ) target reverse transcriptase (an enzyme of HIV), by providing false building blocks that the enzyme puts into new copies of the virus it is building. Occasionally the false building blocks can be incorporated into human DNA, causing toxicity. * NNRTIs (non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor Noun 1. non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor - an antiviral drug used against HIV; binds directly to reverse transcriptase and prevents RNA conversion to DNA; often used in combination with other drugs NNRTI ) target the same reverse transcriptase enzyme, but do not provide false building blocks. * Protease inhibitors target HIV protease, an enzyme necessary for late steps in the formation of new copies of HIV. Some protease inhibitors may inhibit certain human proteases as well, causing toxicity. * Fusion inhibitors block infection early by preventing HIV from fusing with and entering a human cell. Only one fusion inhibitor has been approved so far, and this particular drug is expensive to manufacture and difficult to use. None of these drugs can be taken alone to treat an established HIV infection. They must be used in well-designed combination regimens. NRTIs: Abacavir (Ziagen) Didanosine--ddI (Videx) Emtricitabine--FTC (Emtriva--previous brand name Coviracil) Lamivudine--3TC (Epivir) Stavudine--d4T (Zerit) Tenofovir DF (Viread) Zalcitabine--ddC (Hivid,) Zidovudine--AZT (Retrovir) NNRTIs Delavirdine delavirdine /del·a·vir·dine/ (del?ah-vir´den) an antiretroviral, inhibiting reverse transcriptase; used as the mesylate salt in the treatment of HIV infection. del·a·vir·dine n. (Rescriptor) Efavirenz (Sustiva, brand name Stocrin in many countries) Nevirapine nevirapine /ne·vir·a·pine/ (ne-vir´ah-pen) a nonnucleoside inhibitor of HIV-1reverse transcriptase, used in combination with other antiretroviral agents in the treatment of HIV infection. (Viramune) Protease Inhibitors: Amprenavir (Agenerase) Atazanavir (Reyataz, formerly named Zrivada) Indinavir indinavir /in·di·na·vir/ (in-di´nah-vir) an HIV protease inhibitor that causes formation of immature, noninfectious viral particles; used as the sulfate salt in the treatment of HIV infection and AIDS. (Crixivan) Lopinavir+ritonavir (Kaletra) Nelfinavir nelfinavir /nel·fin·a·vir/ (nel-fin´ah-vir) an HIV protease inhibitor that causes formation of immature, noninfectious viral particles; used as the mesylate salt in the treatment of HIV infection. (Viracept) Ritonavir (Norvir) Saquinavir saquinavir /sa·quin·a·vir/ (sah-kwin´ah-vir) an HIV protease inhibitor that causes formation of immature, noninfectious viral particles; used as the base or the mesylate salt in treatment of HIV infection and AIDS. (Fortovase, earlier formulation Invirase) Fusion Inhibitors Enfuvirtide (Fuzeon) Combination Medications These brand names are combinations of two or three of the medicines above in one pill. Combinations reduce the number of pills patients must take each day. They can also help meet requirements of health plans that limit the number of "prescriptions" per month regardless of medical need. Combivir (AZT + 3TC) Trizivir (abacavir + AZT + 3TC) |
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