Fusion/entry inhibitors as therapies for HIV.
A combination of three or more antiretroviral drugs, commonly termed 'highly active antiretroviral therapy' (HAART), has become the standard-of-care treatment for HIV-related disease in the developed world. Since its initiation in the mid 1990s, HAART has led to substantial reductions in both mortality and morbidity. There are, however, significant problems associated with existing therapies including high pill burdens and serious side effects in many patients, as well as the emergence and transmission of drug-resistant HIV variants. There is, therefore, a need for new medicines to treat HIV infections, both from the existing drug classes and, perhaps more importantly, a need for medicines that act against the virus in entirely new ways. In recent years, much has been learned about how HIV enters its target cells and this work has led to the identification of compounds that potently inhibit the individual steps of viral entry. The status of current research focussed on preventing HIV entry is described below.
Roche Discovery Welwyn, Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, UK. sally.redshaw@roche.com
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