antibioticsbooks

Antiretroviral Drugs
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Introduction to Antiretroviral Drugs
Despite the decades-long stall in antimicrobial
drug development, one area that has seen substantial
growth is the development of antiretroviral
drugs targeting the HIV virus. Only a single
active drug (zidovudine) was available near the
beginning of the epidemic in the mid-1980s, and
today more than two dozen drugs and drug combinations
are available with more in the pipeline.
Some antiretroviral drug classes are in their second
or third generation of agents, leaving some of
the earlier agents essentially obsolete. The development
and proper usage of these agents have
moved HIV infection toward the realm of a chronic
disease rather than a short-term “death sentence.”
More than any other antimicrobial group, however,
the antiretrovirals come with the challenges
of taking complex multidrug regimens for years:
drug adherence, resistance, toxicities, and interactions.
The full scope of these issues is beyond this
text; instead, we will highlight key aspects of the
drug classes and unique properties of individual
agents, especially as related to toxicities. The latest
information on drugs and regimens is available at
http://aidsinfo.nih.gov. Important note: We present