UK patients to get new HIV drug

[Camy]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7209470.stm

The first in a new class of HIV drugs has become available in the UK.

It means doctors will have a further treatment option for patients who have built up resistance to existing drugs.

Raltegravir is an integrase inhibitor, which works by blocking an enzyme essential for HIV to be able to replicate itself.

An estimated 73,000 people live with HIV in the UK. Raltegravir will be reserved for those who have stopped responding to other treatment.

Resistance to HIV medication is becoming increasingly common - more than one in 10 UK patients with HIV has some level of resistance to at least one drug before they have even begun therapy, research has shown.