Rilpivirine Approved — The “iPod” of NNRTIs?

The FDA has approved a new nonnucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor, rilpivirine, for the treatment of HIV infection. Aggregate study results show that rilpivirine demonstrated better overall safety and tolerability than efavirenz, but had less antiviral activity than efavirenz in patients with high viral loads. In his blog HIV and ID Observations, Paul Sax, MD, questions how clinicians will use a drug that may be “both better and worse” than the current options.