Amprenavir is the fifth protease inhibitor to become available for treatment of HIV infection. It was approved by the FDA for use with other drugs in the treatment of HIV-infected adults and children at least four years old.

Antiretroviral therapy is recommended for all HIV-infected patients, both to reduce the risk of disease progression and to prevent transmission of the virus to others. Various guidelines for treatment of HIV infection are available.

Lopinavir/ritonavir is the first fixed-dose combination of protease inhibitors approved by the FDA for the treatment of HIV infection. It is being marketed for use with other drugs in adults and children more than six months old. Lopinavir is a new drug available only in this combination. Ritonavir is often used with other protease inhibitors to raise their plasma concentrations.

The FDA has approved tenofovir alafenamide (Vemlidy – Gilead) for treatment of chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection in adults with compensated liver disease. It is the first single-drug product containing tenofovir alafenamide (TAF), a prodrug of the nucleotide reverse transcriptase inhibitor tenofovir, to become available; several combination products containing TAF are approved for treatment of HIV-1 infection. Tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF; Viread – Gilead), another tenofovir prodrug, has been used for many years for treatment of chronic HBV infection; a generic...

The FDA has approved Biktarvy (Gilead), a once-daily, fixed-dose combination of bictegravir, a new integrase strand transfer inhibitor (INSTI), and the nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs) emtricitabine and tenofovir alafenamide (TAF), for treatment of HIV-1 infection in adults. The new combination is indicated for use in patients who are antiretroviral-naive or who have been virologically suppressed on a stable antiretroviral regimen for ≥3 months with no history of treatment failure and no known substitutions associated with resistance to any component of the...

The FDA has approved elvitegravir (Vitekta – Gilead), an integrase strand transfer inhibitor (INSTI), for use with a protease inhibitor (PI) plus ritonavir and other antiretroviral drugs for treatment of HIV-1 infection in treatment-experienced adults. Elvitegravir is also available in a fixed-dose combination (Stribild) with the pharmacokinetic enhancer cobicistat and the nucleoside/nucleotide reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs) emtricitabine and tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (DF). A similar combination (Genvoya) that includes tenofovir alafenamide instead of tenofovir...

Four new drugs have become available in the USA for HIV infection or its complications. Nevirapine (Viramune - Roxane), intravenous cidofovir (Vistide - Gilead), and amphotericin B oral suspension (Fungizone Oral Suspension - Bristol-Myers Squibb) have been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration; nelfinavir (Viracept - Agouron) is currently available only through an "Expanded Access Program."

Atripla (Gilead/Bristol-Myers Squibb) is the first once daily, single-tablet combination of 3 antiretroviral drugs for treatment of HIV infection. Each tablet contains 600 mg of the non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI) efavirenz (Sustiva), 200 mg of the nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NRTI) emtricitabine (Emtriva), and 300 mg of the nucleotide reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NRTI) tenofovir DF (Viread). These drugs have been recommended for use together, if resistance testing confirms susceptibility, as an initial regimen of choice for treatment-na∩ve...

The FDA has approved Genvoya (Gilead), a fixed-dose combination of the integrase strand transfer inhibitor (INSTI) elvitegravir, the pharmacokinetic enhancer cobicistat, and the nucleoside/nucleotide reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs) emtricitabine and tenofovir alafenamide, for treatment of HIV-1 infection in patients ≥12 years old. This is the first approval for tenofovir alafenamide (TAF), a tenofovir prodrug. Stribild, a fixed-dose combination of elvitegravir, cobicistat, emtricitabine, and tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF), was approved in 2012.

Raltegravir (Isentress - Merck), the first in a new class of oral HIV drugs called HIV-1 integrase strand transfer inhibitors (InSTI), has received accelerated FDA approval for use in combination therapy for treatment-experienced adults infected with HIV-1 strains resistant to multiple antiretroviral agents.

Maraviroc (Selzentry - Pfizer), the first CCR5 (CC chemokine receptor 5) antagonist has received the same FDA approval but is restricted to use in adults with CCR5-tropic HIV-1 ("R5 virus"). A commercial assay is available for R5 tropism.