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Manufacturer: GlaxoSmithKline

Recommended dose is one 300 mg tablet once a day or one 150 mg tablet twice-a-day. You can take it without regard to meals.

Evaluation: Epivir was approved by the FDA on November 17, 1995. Epivir is an excellent HIV drug. It is highly popular—to say the least! It is estimated that 98% of people with HIV have used Epivir at some point in their therapy. It is the best-selling HIV drug of all time.

Epivir can be taken either once-a-day or twice-a-day—your choice—so the dosing is easy and convenient. It is one of the most potent and well-tolerated of all the HIV drugs. Epivir is one of the ingredients of Combivir, Trizivir, and Epzicom.

Manufacturer: Gilead Sciences

Standard dose is one 200 mg once a day.

Evaluation: Emtriva was approved by the FDA in 2003. It is a very popular drug. It is frequently compared to Epivir—which is not a bad thing, since Epivir is an effective drug with very few side effects.

Emtriva’s dosing is very convenient—just one pill, once-a-day. It is effective and easy-to-tolerate. Emtriva is one of the ingredients of Atripla and Truvada.

Emtriva is also effective against Hepatitis B—a nice bonus, since many people with HIV also have Hepatitis B.

Manufacturer: Gilead Sciences

Comes in 300 mg tablets. Standard dose is one tablet, once-a-day.

Evaluation: Viread was approved by the FDA in 2001. It is a very popular drug. In tests, it was highly effective in patients who were resistant to other drugs. The dosing is extremely convenient: just one pill, once-a-day. Viread is one of the ingredients in Atripla and Truvada.

Viread is technically in a class by itself: it is a Nucleotide Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitor. However, since it is so similar to drugs like Epivir, Emtriva and Retrovir, it is commonly lumped in with the Nucleoside Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors, as we have done here.

Manufacturer: GlaxoSmithKline

Comes in 100 mg and 300 mg capsules, 10 mg/mL IV solution and 10 mg/mL oral solution. Recommended dose is 200 mg (two 100 mg capsules) three times a day or 300 mg (one 300 mg capsule) twice a day. You can take it without regard to meals.

Evaluation: Retrovir was the first drug found to be effective against HIV—and it’s still effective. In the early days (when it was usually called AZT) it got a bad reputation because it was often given in excessively high doses and because it didn’t work for long by itself. (Nothing does!) Now, however, they’ve got the appropriate dosing figured out. It is a key ingredient of both Combivir and Trizivir.

Manufacturer: GlaxoSmithKline

Comes in 300 mg tablets and 20 mg/mL oral solution. Recommended dose is 300 mg (one tablet) twice a day. You can take it without regard to meals.

Evaluation: Ziagen was approved by the FDA in 2000. It is a popular drug. It’s easy to take—one pill twice a day. And even easier as one of the ingredients of Trizivir and Epzicom. Ziagen carries with it the risk of a hypersensitivity reaction, which may include fever, rash, fatigue, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and abdominal pain. You should quit using Ziagen as soon as a hypersensitivity reaction is suspected, and never try it again—it can be fatal. This hypersensitivity reaction occurs in about 5 – 8% of the people who use Ziagen.

Manufacturer: Bristol-Myers Squibb

Comes in 400 mg enteric coated capsules. Recommended dose is one capsule once a day.

Evaluation: Videx was an early, effective HIV fighter. However, it is destroyed by stomach acid. The original formulation of Videx solved that problem by adding a strong buffering agent to the drug itself and the buffering agent caused all sorts of problems, including stomach upset and interactions with other drugs.

This current version of Videx—Videx EC—uses a different method to get around the stomach acid problem. The drug is “enteric coated” into little beadlets that pass right through the stomach, and then dissolve when they reach the small intestine, releasing their medicine there. This eliminates most of the problems with stomach upset and drug interactions. As an added bonus, it’s much easier to take: just one capsule, once a day.

Manufacturer: Bristol-Myers Squibb

Comes in 15, 20, 30 and 40 mg capsules and 1 mg/mL oral solution. Recommended dose for people weighing more than 132 pounds is 40 mg (one 40 mg capsule) twice a day. Recommended dose for people weighing less than 132 pounds is 30 mg (one 30 mg capsule) twice a day. You can take it without regard to meals.

Evaluation: Zerit has been around for a long time. It was approved by the FDA in 1994. However, it is not used as much as before because of concerns about potentially toxic side effects, especially in pregnant women.

HIVID has never been a highly effective drug. Hardly anybody takes it. It is obsolete.

Copyright 2008, Positive Health Publications, Inc.

This magazine is intended to enhance your relationship with your doctor - not replace it! Medical treatments and products should always be discussed with a licensed physician who has experience treating HIV and AIDS!