Etravirine: New drug against HIV drug resistance

Scientists are actively looking for new drugs to prolong life for drug-resistant HIV patients. One of those drugs was Etravirine, which was published on July 7 in the Lancet, a prestigious professional magazine .

Etravirine, also known as TMC125, is produced as an alternative to patients who are contraindicated with an existing NNRTI drug.

A group of international doctors have been testing Etravirin in patients with NNRTI resistance for 48 weeks. This is the third and final stage in a long and complex process to assess the safety and efficacy of new drugs.

The candles are lit on a red banner as an anti-AIDS symbol (Photo: AFP)

Volunteers in 2 trials 1 and 2 are divided into 2 groups. Half of Etravirin pills were used and half used a medicine to calm the sick.

In addition, everyone was given two standard anti-HIV drugs, a protein-depleting inhibitor, and a choice of NNRTI.

The criteria for assessing success in treating patients with drug resistance problems are that the virus in the blood has an amount of 50 viruses per milliliter of blood. After the first 24 weeks of the two trials, 56 and 52% of patients in the Etravirin group achieved this standard.

Current drugs used to treat AIDS have the effect of inhibiting viral activity and replication in order to prolong the lives of patients. However, the disadvantages of these drugs are the emergence of resistant viruses

Experts hope Etravirine will open a new way to combat resistant viruses and enhance the gene barrier to prevent the development of resistance factors. Etravirin is strongly supported by a Belgian company, Tibotec, who has been strongly supported by AIDS campaign participants.

Minh Minh