Drug suppresses virus, boosts CD4 count
People living with HIV who received nelfinavir mesylate combination therapy for three years were shown to experience suppression of virus as well as replenishment of CD4 cells, according to a study by U.S. researchers reported at the recent XIII International AIDS Conference in Durban, South Africa.
In this multicenter observational study, 56 therapy-naive HIV-infected individuals received nelfinavir mesylate (750 mg three times daily) in combination with standard doses of lamivudine/ zidovudine. At the start of the study, individuals had a mean viral load of 204,000 copies/ml and a mean CD4 count of 310 cells/mm3.
After three years, 76.9% of patients had a viral load of <50 copies/ml and an increase in their CD4 count to a mean of 556 CD4 cells/mm3.
Nelfinavir mesylate is manufactured under the brand name Viracept by Agouron Pharmaceuticals, a wholly owned subsidiary of Pfizer with headquarters in La Jolla, CA. For more details, visit the company’s Web site at www.agouron. com.
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