Etravirine - New NNRTI on way

[Guest guest]

Dear Forum,

As per the news from AIDSmed, we’re now in a countdown of days until the U.S.

Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approves the first antiretroviral of 2008:

Etravirine (also known as TMC125). Scheduled to be approved by the end of this

week, etravirine is a non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI)—a

“non-nuke”—with a very important twist.

It works against HIV strains resistant to Efavirenz and Nevirapine, effectively

becoming the first NNRTI to break the cross-resistance barrier that has long

plagued this class of drugs. Should the FDA approve etravirine, it will be the

third new antiretroviral approved in the last six months. The string of recent

approvals after the safety profile examination is likely to have a significant

impact on the lives of thousands of people who are heavily treatment-experienced

and in desperate need of new treatment options.

Dr Diwakar Tejaswi MBBS(Gold Medalist); MCH; FCCP; Ph.D.

Medical Director

International Health Organization

www.ihousa.org

+91-9835078298

e-mail: diwakartejaswi@...