Pfizer wins U.S. approval for new HIV drug
Key points
- Pfizer Inc said on Monday that U.S. regulators approved its AIDS drug Selzentry, the first in a new class of oral HIV medicines.
- Selzentry is the first drug designed to keep the HIV virus that causes AIDS from entering healthy immune cells.
- The drug, also known as maraviroc, blocks the CCR5 co-receptor that serves as a main doorway for the HIV virus into immune cells.
- Food and Drug Administration approved Selzentry for use in patients who have tried other medicines and for those for whom a diagnostic test has confirmed their HIV strain is linked to the CCR5 receptor.
Pfizer Inc said on Monday that U.S. regulators approved its AIDS drug Selzentry, the first in a new class of oral HIV medicines.
Selzentry is the first drug designed to keep the HIV virus that causes AIDS from entering healthy immune cells. Older AIDS medicines attack the virus itself.
The drug, also known as maraviroc, blocks the CCR5 co-receptor that serves as a main doorway for the HIV virus into immune cells.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Selzentry for use in patients who have tried other medicines and for those for whom a diagnostic test has confirmed their HIV strain is linked to the CCR5 receptor.
The world's largest drugmaker said it expects the drug to be available next month.
Pfizer said in June that the FDA would approve the drug once certain conditions had been met.
The New York-based company is counting on new medicines like Selzentry to help drive profits as several blockbuster medicines lose patent protection and its top-selling Lipitor cholesterol treatment faces strong competition.
Industry analysts have projected annual Selzentry sales of about $500 million by 2011.
Written and revised by
David Cohen, M.D.
Our doctors write and review articles for accuracy and keep them up to date.
health.am provides general information, not medical advice. Always consult a qualified health professional about your own health.
Explore health topics
More in this topic
Infections, HIV & STIs →
NewsFDA grants emergency approval for test to detect MERS
The Food and Drug Administration issued an emergency authorization on Tuesday for a diagnostic test to detect the presence of the Middle East coronavirus at the request of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.…
17 July 2013
NewsAIDS drugs halve HIV risk for intravenous drug users in study
A daily dose of powerful anti-HIV medicine helped cut the risk of infection with the AIDS virus by 49 percent in intravenous drug users in a Bangkok study that showed for the first time such a preventive step can work…
13 June 2013
NewsDrug-resistant MRSA bacteria - here to stay in both hospital and community (PLoS Pathogens)
The drug-resistant bacteria known as MRSA, once confined to hospitals but now widespread in communities, will likely continue to exist in both settings as separate strains, according to a new study. The…
