HIV Medications, Kaletra
Lopinavir was developed by Abbott in an attempt to improve on the HIV/AIDS resistance and serum protein-binding properties of the company’s earlier protease inhibitor, ritonavir. Administered by itself lopinavir has too low of a bioavailability; but many HIV protease inhibitors can be boosted with low doses of ritonavir and this is the case with lopinavir. Abbott therefore pursued a strategy of co-administering lopinavir with sub-therapeutic doses of ritonavir, and lopinavir is only marketed as a co-formulation with ritonavir. Its the first HIV medication to not be offered individually.
Kaletra Lopinavir/ritonavir was approved for use by the FDA on September 2000, and 1 year later in Europe. Its patent will expire in the US on June 26, 2016.
Abbott was one of the first users of the APS, a synchrotron radiation light source at Argonne Nat. Lab. One early reseach project undertaken at the APS was HIV. Utilizing X ray crystallography researchers were able to find the points of attack of the HIV protease inhibitors, agents that prevent the breakdown of proteins. Protease inhibitors stop HIV from making new copies of itself by blocking the last step in the process, when the virus attempts to replicate – and out of that discovery came the drug Kaletra.
Abbott was one of the first users of the APS, a synchrotron radiation light source at Argonne Nat. Lab. One of the early research projects undertaken at the Advanced Photon Source was the Human Immunodeficiency Virus. Using X-ray crystallography, researchers found the points of attack of the HIV protease inhibitors – agents that block the breakdown of proteins. Protease inhibitors stop HIV from making new copies of itself by blocking the last step in the process, when the virus attempts to replicate – and out of that discovery came the drug Lopinavir.
