Maraviroc (Celsentri) in HIV treatment

Abstract

Since 1996, the prognosis of people living with immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) has improved significantly, due to highly active antiretroviral therapies (HAART) based on a combination of 3-4 anti-HIV drugs; the use of
these drugs can achieve a durable suppression of HIV viraemia, turning HIV infection into a chronic illness. The three first licensed classes of antiretroviral agents are nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs), non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTIs) and protease inhibitors (PIs). Until recently, treatment options for individuals developing resistance
to these drugs have been limited, but new drugs in existing classes (second generation NNRTIs and novel PIs) and novel classes of drugs (integrase inhibitors, CCR5 antagonists and fusion inhibitors) have become clinically available.