Prezista - New drug for the treatment of HIV / AIDS

Spanish experts have successfully tested Prezista, a new drug that is considered effective in treating HIV / AIDS. Through testing, drugs have the ability to control the development of HIV .

Prezista - by Johnson & Johnson unit Tibotec Pharmaceuticals Ltd. Production is a new drug that blocks HIV replication by inhibiting the enzyme protease activity. The study of Prezista (Darunavir) was conducted under the guidance of Dr. Bonaventura Clotet, Universitari Germans Trias i Pujol hospital, in Barcelona, ​​Spain.

This drug has been clinically tested for 11 months in 2 patient groups: The first group (control) included 110 people, taking other protease inhibitors; and the second group consists of 120 people, using Prezista twice daily (with a low dose of ritonavir).

Prezista can create a very positive change in patients with multidrug-resistant HIV infection.(Photo: ABC)

The team evaluated the effects of Prezista by monitoring the amount of genetic material of HIV (RNA) in the patient's blood after 48 weeks of treatment. The results showed that 61% of those taking the new drug had a 10-fold decrease in RNA, while the control group achieved this reduction of only 15%.

After using Prezista, 45% of patients had RNA content reduced to 50 units / ml of blood, while in the control group, this ratio was only 10%. The number of immune cells CD4 in the blood of patients using new drugs also increased by an average of 102 cells / micro liter (1 part per million liters), too high compared to 19 cells / micro liter in the control group.

Previous studies have shown that nearly 10% of HIV patients with 100 CD4 cells / micro liters have not progressed to AIDS or have not died within 3 years of treatment.

Meanwhile, 85% of patients with less than 25 CD4 cells / micro liters have turned to AIDS or died within 3 years. Prezista has been licensed for use by the US Drug and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Union has also approved the Prezista circulation in all 27 member countries.

Currently, doctors are in great need of new anti-microbial anti-microbial drugs, because current drugs are often ineffective after several weeks of treatment for patients.

Dr. Rodger MacArthur, of Wayne State University, USA, said: 'Currently, all doctors who are treating HIV patients are happy to have Prezista - a safe and competent agent. well tolerated and really effective in treating multidrug-resistant HIV '.

Regarding the effectiveness of the new drug, Mr. Roger Pebody, treatment consultant of the Terrence Higgins Trust, a leading charity in the UK, said: 'Prezista can create a very positive change in infected patients. Multi-drug resistant HIV '.

This research has just been published in the electronic journal The Lancet.

Minh Quang