Viral Decay Dynamics in HIV-Infected Patients Receiving Ritonavir-Boosted Saquinavir and Efavirenz With or Without Enfuvirtide: A Randomized, Controlled Trial (HIV-NAT 012).

The availability of enfuvirtide enables assessment of whether human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) decay can be enhanced by targeting reverse transcriptase, protease, and fusion. We performed a 12-week study of 22 patients randomized to receive ritonavir-boosted saquinavir and efavirenz with (the 3-target arm) or without (the 2-target arm) enfuvirtide. We observed served no difference in the mean ± SD elimination-rate constant for overall decay (0.142 ± 0.040 per day and 0.128 ± 0.033 per day in the 2- and 3-target arms, respectively; P> .1) or for modeled first-phase decay rate (-0.62 ± 0.34 per day and -0.51 ± 0.16 per day; P> .1). Antiretroviral therapy that inhibits HIV reverse transcriptase and protease exerts potent antiviral effects that might not be augmented by the addition of an HIV fusion inhibitor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]