What does RT stand for?

nucleoside analogue reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs), non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTIs), RNA polymerase inhibitors, integrase inhibitors.

based in Cork, Ireland and now part of Johnson & Johnson, is a "second generation" NNRTI (non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor)--an antiretroviral in the same class as efavirenz (brand name Sustiva, or Stochrin in many countries) or nevirapine (Viramune).

In December, Bristol-Myers Squibb and Gilead Sciences announced that they will work together to develop a fixed-dose combination of Sustiva, a non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor ("non-nuke"), and Truvada, a combination pill containing the nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor ("nuke") Emtriva and the nucleotide reverse transcriptase inhibitor Viread.

New reports suggest that zidovudine resistance mutations may be important for resistance to other nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs), and a novel mechanism for resistance has been described.

Luzuriaga's team wanted to try a three-pronged attack with AZT and two other drugs that also block reverse transcriptase.

History This drug was chemically designed by leading experts, mostly in Belgium, to reduce viral resistance--partly by making a flexible molecule that can fit into the "active pocket" of HIV's reverse transcriptase enzyme in different ways, even when the shape of that pocket changes due to viral mutations that would defeat other drugs.

Currently approved reverse transcriptase inhibitors include nucleoside and non-nucleoside inhibitors, but tenofovir is a nucleotide reverse transcriptase inhibitor, which has slightly different chemical properties.