Ritonavir News and Research

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Ritonavir, also known as Norvir, is a type of medicine called a protease inhibitor (PI). PIs act by blocking protease, a protein that HIV needs to make more copies of itself. Ritonavir was approved by the FDA on March 1, 1996, for use with other antiretroviral agents in the treatment of HIV infection in adults and children 2 years of age or older. Ritonavir is now approved with other anti-HIV drugs in the treatment of HIV-1 infection in children in individuals over 1 month in age. Studies have shown that ritonavir works as a booster for some other PIs. Taking ritonavir makes it possible to take a lower dose of the other PIs. This medicine does not cure or prevent HIV infection or AIDS and does not reduce the risk of passing the virus to other people.

Concert earns $4M milestone payment from GSK collaboration

Concert Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that it has achieved a milestone in its strategic alliance with GlaxoSmithKline for its HIV protease inhibitor development program, resulting in a $4 million milestone payment to Concert.

20 Jun 2011

Millennium reports results from two VELCADE based combination studies against multiple myeloma

Millennium: The Takeda Oncology Company with its parent company Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited today reported results from two studies of VELCADE (bortezomib) for Injection based combinations in patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma (MM).

8 Jun 2011

Unique clinical trial addresses important questions about treating AIDS-related cancers

As the world marks the 30-year anniversary of the first reporting of HIV/AIDS, now comes the realization of a new challenge for people with the incurable disease. For reasons not yet clear, people with HIV face a higher rate of cancers not usually associated with HIV. This increasing rate of "non-AIDS defining cancers" includes lung, head and neck, liver, kidney, and anal cancers, among others.

7 Jun 2011

Merck's VICTRELIS receives European CHMP positive opinion for treatment of chronic HCV genotype 1 infection

Merck, today announced that the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use of the European Medicines Agency has adopted a positive opinion under accelerated assessment recommending approval of the investigational medicine VICTRELIS (boceprevir) for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C virus genotype 1 infection, in combination with peginterferon alfa and ribavirin, in adult patients with compensated liver disease who are previously untreated or who have failed previous therapy.

20 May 2011

Millennium presents VELCADE Phase III trial data in multiple myeloma at IMW meeting

Millennium: The Takeda Oncology Company today reported the presentation of results of a randomized Phase III trial that investigated the effect of consolidation with single-agent VELCADE for Injection in newly diagnosed multiple myeloma patients after autologous stem cell transplant.

7 May 2011

Millennium presents three studies in relapsed multiple myeloma at IMW meeting

Millennium: The Takeda Oncology Company today reported results from three studies in relapsed multiple myeloma. Two of the studies examined the use of VELCADE for Injection; the third study presents clinical data on MLN9708, the first investigational oral proteasome inhibitor.

6 May 2011

Lead investigator to discuss growing impact of AFib on US health care costs and resources

Two studies to be presented this week address the often-overlooked costs associated with atrial fibrillation, the most common form of cardiac arrhythmia.

5 May 2011

AHF advocates to attend drug giant Abbott Laboratories' Annual General Meeting

A group of advocates from AIDS Healthcare Foundation will attend drug giant Abbott Laboratories' Annual General Meeting Friday April 29 at 9:00am in Abbott Park, Illinois planning to speak at and question Abbott executives regarding Abbott's pricing and policies on its HIV/AIDS medications.

30 Apr 2011

Pharmasset reports net loss of $19.9 million for quarter ended March 31, 2011

Pharmasset, Inc., a clinical stage pharmaceutical company committed to discovering, developing, and commercializing novel drugs to treat viral infections, today reported financial results and operational highlights for the quarter ended March 31, 2011.

25 Apr 2011

Rate of antiretroviral virological failure higher among children living with HIV/AIDS than adults, study finds

One in eight children living with HIV/AIDS "experiences triple-class virological failure - meaning the virus becomes resistant to multiple drugs - within five years of starting antiretroviral treatment," according to a study published Wednesday in the Lancet, HealthDay News/MSN reports. The "failure rate is higher than in adults and highlights the challenge of maintaining viral load suppression in young patients who begin antiretroviral therapy so early in life, the researchers said," according to the news service (Preidt, 4/19).

21 Apr 2011

Study shows possibility of women living with AIDS to breastfeed with lower risk

In low-income countries, 1.4 million women are living with the Aids virus. If no prevention measures are taken, the risk for future mothers of transmitting HIV to their child in utero, during delivery or when breastfeeding is 35%.

20 Apr 2011

Abbott and Enanta's ABT-450/r Phase 2 study results against HCV presented at EASL meeting

Abbott and Enanta Pharmaceuticals today announced 12-week results from a Phase 2 study of ABT-450/r, an investigational, oral protease inhibitor being developed for the treatment of hepatitis C infection.

4 Apr 2011

Gilead's elvitegravir Phase III trial against HIV-1 meets primary objective

Gilead Sciences, Inc. today announced that the Phase III clinical trial of its investigational antiretroviral agent elvitegravir, a novel oral integrase inhibitor being evaluated for the treatment of HIV-1 infection in treatment-experienced patients, met its primary objective.

24 Mar 2011

HIV prevention, treatment highlighted at Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections

Today was the last day of the 18th Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections, a key HIV/AIDS research meeting being held at the Hynes Convention Center in Boston from February 27 through March 2. Highlighted below are selected presentations from March 2nd on research supported by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, both components of the National Institutes of Health.

5 Mar 2011

Vertex announces positive interim results from telaprevir Phase 2 study in patients with HCV, HIV

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated announced today interim results from an ongoing, two-part, Phase 2 study evaluating telaprevir in combination with pegylated-interferon and ribavirin compared to pegylated-interferon and ribavirin alone in people who are infected with both genotype 1 hepatitis C virus and human immunodeficiency virus, also known as HCV-HIV co-infection.

3 Mar 2011

FDA approves ONGLYZA to treat type 2 diabetes patients with renal impairment

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company and AstraZeneca today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved the inclusion of data from two clinical studies in an update to the ONGLYZA U.S. Prescribing Information for adult type 2 diabetes patients.

24 Feb 2011

Mallinckrodt receives FDA approval for Fentanyl Transdermal System patch ANDA

Covidien, a leading global provider of healthcare products, today announced that Mallinckrodt Inc., a Covidien company, has received U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of its Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) for its Fentanyl Transdermal System (FTS) patch. Covidien is the largest supplier of controlled pain medications in the United States based on number of prescriptions.

10 Feb 2011

FDA approved KOMBIGLYZE XR for type 2 diabetes mellitus now available in pharmacies

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, and AstraZeneca today announced that KOMBIGLYZE™ XR (saxagliptin and metformin HCl extended-release), approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on November 5, 2010, is now available by prescription in pharmacies across the United States.

7 Jan 2011

Indian government rejects Abbott's patent application for second-line ARV

India's patent office "has rejected American drug maker Abbott Laboratories' patent application for an HIV combination drug, allowing low-cost local drug makers to make and sell their generic versions in India and other countries where the medicine is not patented," Economic Times reports (1/4).

5 Jan 2011

FDA approves 200 mg formulation of INTELENCE for HIV-1

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a label update to include a 200 mg formulation of INTELENCE® (etravirine), a non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI) indicated for the treatment of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV-1) in treatment-experienced adults with resistance to an NNRTI and other antiretroviral (ARV) agents.

3 Jan 2011