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Second-line Regimens Twice as Likely to Fail as Initial Therapy

Treatment failure is twice as likely with second-line antiretroviral regimens compared with initial therapy, according to a study presented at the recent 9th International Congress on Drug Therapy in HIV Infection in Glasgow, Scotland.

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ICAAC 2008: Zinc Finger Nuclease that Disables CCR5 Gene May Offer Potential New HIV Treatment Approach

It may be possible to create CD4 cells that are resistant to HIV infection by using zinc finger protein nucleases to disable the gene that encodes the CCR5 co-receptor, according to research presented at the 48th International Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (ICAAC 2008) last month in Washington, DC.

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Adherence, Pharmacokinetics, and Metabolic Changes in Treatment-naive Patients Receiving Once-daily or Twice-daily Lopinavir/ritonavir (Kaletra): Study M05-730

Researchers have explored several strategies for making antiretroviral therapy more convenient and promoting improved adherence, including once-daily dosing. A series of posters at the 9th International Congress on Drug Therapy in HIV Infection (HIV9) this week in Glasgow, Scotland, presented data from studies of soft-gel capsule (SGC) and tablet formulations of the boosted protease inhibitor lopinavir/ritonavir (Kaletra) taken either once-daily (QD) or twice-daily (BID).

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HIV9: Atripla Users May Be Able to Take Weekend Treatment Breaks

In an effort to alleviate the inconvenience and other drawbacks of life-long daily treatment, many patients with HIV wish to take "drug holidays," or periodic breaks from antiretroviral therapy.

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ICAAC 2008: Investigational NNRTI RDEA806 Exhibits Promising Activity and Has High Barrier to Resistance

At the 48th International Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (ICAAC 2008) last week in Washington, DC, researchers presented data on several new antiretroviral agents in the pipeline, including an investigational non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI) designated RDEA806, being developed by Ardea Biosciences.

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HIV9: Modern HAART Is Associated with Better Adherence and Greater Efficacy than Older Regimens

It is clear that treatment outcomes have dramatically improved since the introduction of effective combination antiretroviral therapy in the mid-1990s, and since then HAART efficacy has improved over time as new and better drugs have been developed. But the factors that contribute to this improved treatment success are not yet fully understood. To shed further light on this issue, Italian investigators retrospectively analyzed the efficacy of first-line regimens in 1998 and in 2006. Results were presented last week at the 9th International Congress on Drug Therapy in HIV Infection (HIV9) in Glasgow, Scotland.

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ICAAC 2008: Experimental NRTI Elvucitabine Suppresses HIV as well as Lamivudine at 48 Weeks

While novel classes of antiretroviral drugs such as integrase inhibitors and CCR5 antagonists have received the most attention at recent HIV conferences, new agents in older classes also continue to make their way through the pipeline. At the 48th International Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (ICAAC 2008) last week in Washington, DC, researchers presented the latest data on elvucitabine (also known as ACH123,446), a cytosine analog nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NRTI) being developed by Achillion Pharmaceuticals. Previous laboratory studies demonstrated potent in vitro activity against wild type HIV-1.

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