Etravirine: A Second-Generation NNRTI

Nonnucleoside reverse-transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTIs) such as efavirenz and nevirapine are among the drugs most commonly used to treat HIV infection. However, a single mutation in the virus may confer resistance to current NNRTIs, and HIV resistant to one NNRTI is often resistant to others as well. Etravirine, a second-generation NNRTI, has in vitro activity against HIV that is resistant to older drugs in this class. Investigators recently reported results from the DUET trials — two ongoing, industry-sponsored, multinational phase III studies of etravirine versus placebo in treatment-experienced HIV-infected adults with genotypic evidence of NNRTI resistance and three or more protease inhibitor (PI) mutations.

All patients received the PI …