Efavirenz, also known as EFV or Sustiva, is a type of medicine called a non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI). NNRTIs block reverse transcriptase, a protein that HIV needs to make more copies of itself. Efavirenz was approved by the FDA on September 17, 1998, for use with other antiretroviral agents in the treatment of HIV infection in adults and children ages 3 and older. This medicine does not cure HIV infection or AIDS and does not reduce the risk of passing the virus to other people. Efavirenz may also be used with other antiretroviral medications to prevent HIV in people who have been exposed to the virus in the work place, such as health care providers who come in contact with HIV infected blood through an accidental needle stick.
Patients in the last stages of HIV infection with full-blown AIDS and those who have suffered some kind of brain impairment as a result of the disease are also more likely to suffer from insomnia, the reviewers conclude in the current issue of Psychosomatic Medicine.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) today announced new federal guidelines for the use of antiretroviral drugs to prevent HIV infection after exposure to HIV through sexual intercourse, sexual assault, injection drug use, or accidents.
AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) has sent a letter dated October 20, 2004, to the heads of all state Medicaid programs asking them put in use treatment authorization request (TAR) procedures on GlaxoSmithKline's (GSK) fixed-dose combination AIDS drug, Trizivir, as a standalone regimen for treatment naïve patients.
Bristol-Myers Squibb has announced that Sustiva® (efavirenz) has received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to include new long-term virologic and clinical data from BMS Study 006 in its prescribing information.
Results from a three year double-blinded trial which compared antiretroviral therapies show that the combination regimens of tenofovir DF and stavudine, are equally effective, though tenofovir DF has more favorable outcomes with respect to cholesterol levels and the nervous system.
In a small study conducted at the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH), researchers have shown that it may be feasible to treat HIV-infected patients with a simple, once-daily regimen of anti-HIV drugs given in pre-planned, 7-day-on, 7-day-off cycles.
In a small study conducted at the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH), researchers have shown that it may be feasible to treat HIV-infected patients with a simple, once-daily regimen of anti-HIV drugs given in pre-planned, 7-day-on, 7-day-off cycles. This approach is known formally as “short-cycle structured intermittent antiretroviral therapy” (SIT) or colloquially as the “7-7” approach.
Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, Gilead Sciences, Inc. and Merck & Co., Inc. have announced that they are in discussions on the development of a once-daily, fixed-dose combination of three anti-HIV drugs and are also considering certain co-packaging options for the individual products.