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A new class in anti-HIV treatments
The USA Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has just given its approval for the use of Maraviroc in adults infected with HIV. This new antiretroviral marks the advent of a new class of drugs – known as CCR5 antagonists – in the fight against HIV/AIDS infection.
More specifically, Maraviroc is the third CCR5 antagonist the pharmaceutical industry has developed. But it is the first to overcome successfully all development hurdles and therefore reach the market. It will be marketed by Pfizer Laboratories under the evocative name of Selzentry.
Unlike other antiretroviral drugs, this new type of treatment does not attack HIV at white cell level. Instead, it prevents the virus entering unaffected cells by blocking CCR5 co-receptors, which are the principal means of cell access. CCR5 is in fact a protein found on the surface of certain immune cells that are HIV targets of choice.
First synthesized in 1997, Maraviroc has undergone very rapid development. According to Dr Steven Galson, Director of the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, “this is an important new product for many HIV-infected patients who have not responded to other treatments and have few options”.
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