Pharmaprojects R&D Pipeline News Feed
Merck launches first-in-class HIV treatment in the UK
29 Jan 2008
Merck & Co's first-in-class antiretroviral treatment Isentress (raltegravir) is now available in the UK, marking a new hope for British HIV patients. It is approved for use in combination with other antiretroviral agents for the treatment of HIV-1 infection in treatment-experienced patients with evidence of HIV-1 replication despite ongoing antiretroviral therapy.
Raltegravir is the first antiretroviral to target the integrase enzyme and thus prevent integration of viral DNA into the DNA of the host cell. This in turn reduces the viral load as it affects the ability of the virus to replicate and thereby infect other cells. Dr Mark Nelson, Director of HIV Services at London's Chelsea and Westminster Hospital said that, "When used as part of individually-tailored combination therapy, raltegravir will be an important step forward in our fight against HIV".
With the other integrase inhibitors in clinical development, Japan Tabacco's elvitegravir and Bristol-Myers Squibb's BMS-538158, currently only at Phase II, raltegravir's launch bodes well for the future of HIV patients and Merck alike.
