antiretroviral drug

pharmacology

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July 16, 2026

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Antiretroviral drugs are used to treat viral infections, most notably HIV/AIDS. These medications work by interfering with the virus's ability to replicate within host cells. For HIV, a key target is the enzyme reverse transcriptase, which HIV uses to convert its RNA into DNA. Drugs like AZT (zidovudine) are nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs) that mimic natural DNA building blocks but terminate DNA synthesis when incorporated by reverse transcriptase.12

Because HIV can quickly develop resistance, combination therapy, such as Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy (HAART), using multiple drugs from different classes (e.g., NRTIs and protease inhibitors) is crucial for effective viral suppression. While HAART significantly reduces mortality, it does not eradicate the virus and can have side effects.3

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AIDS
Antiretroviral medications
HIV infection is treated with three classes of antiretroviral medications. Protease inhibitors, which inhibit the action of an HIV enzyme called protease, include ritonavir, saquinavir, indinavir, nelfinavir, and lopinavir. Nucleoside reverse transcriptase (RT) inhibitors (e.g., abacavir [ABC], zidovudine [
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HIV infection is treated with three classes of antiretroviral medications. Protease inhibitors, which inhibit the action of an HIV enzyme called protease, include ritonavir, saquinavir, indinavir, nelfinavir, and lopinavir. Nucleoside reverse transcriptase (RT) inhibitors (e.g., abacavir [ABC], zidovudine [
Read More