Selzentry: New anti-HIV drug licensed by FDA

Selzentry - the first oral anti-HIV drug approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). This is a drug made by Pfizer. Pfizer Inc. Pharmaceutical Company announced the news on August 6.

Pfizer Inc. is expected, Senzentry will be available in September this year (Photo: insurancebroadcasting)

As a Pfizer Inc. product, Selzentry is the first tablet formulated to prevent HIV virus from entering the body's healthy immune cells. Meanwhile, other drugs that fight HIV by attacking the virus directly.

Selzentry, also known as Maraviroc, acts to inhibit CCR5 coreceptors - an agent that acts as an intermediary for HIV entry into white blood cells.

In the company's studies, 45% of patients in the Selzentry drinking group had low levels of HIV virus undetectable, while in the placebo group, this rate was only 23%.

All of these patients were also treated with a combination of other existing drugs as well as with many different regimens.

According to FDA, Selzentry is only allowed to be used for patients who have been treated with other anti-HIV drugs and for patients diagnosed with HIV-related strains of CCR5.

These patients must be tested for blood to ensure that the HIV line in them may use CCR5 to enter immune cells. These blood samples will be frozen and sent to Monogram Biosciences, in San Francisco, for testing.

Then, patients who are identified as eligible for Selzentry will be given the medication twice a day, along with the other anti-HIV medications they are taking.

45% of patients in the Selzentry drinking group had a low level of HIV virus that was undetectable.(Photo: BBC)

According to FDA, about 50 - 60% of patients who have been treated with other drugs can use Selzentry.

Pfizer Inc. - the world's largest pharmaceutical manufacturer of research-based drugs - expects that the drug will be available in the market next month.

The firm said the most important side effect of Selzentry is the risk of liver damage and cardiovascular problems, including heart attack. Other side effects include cough, fever, upper respiratory tract infection, rash, abdominal pain and dizziness.

According to FDA, the safety and effectiveness of Selzentry has not been verified in adults or children who have never been treated with other anti-HIV drugs. At the same time, this drug has not been tested in pregnant women.

Quang Thinh