New Compound Could Be Alternative Strategy for Preventing HIV Infection

Source:  Science Daily

With the help of effective drug therapies, HIV patients are living longer, healthier lives. Now, researchers want to improve these drug therapies and develop alternative preventative strategies, such as vaginal gels and creams that contain the same or related compounds used in treatments for people infected with HIV. A University of Missouri researcher is developing a compound that is more potent and longer-lasting than current HIV therapies.

“This new compound, EFdA, is 60,000 times more potent than any other drug that is currently being used to treat HIV,” said Stefan Sarafianos, assistant professor of microbiology and immunology in the MU School of Medicine and investigator in the Christopher Bond Life Sciences Center. “This compound has a different chemical makeup than other approved therapies and creates an exceptional amount of antiviral activity. EFdA is activated very quickly and stays long in the body to fight the virus and protect from infection.”

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