Emtricitabine: A Once-Daily Nucleoside Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitor

• Published in: The Annals of pharmacotherapy 2004-06, Vol.38 (6), p.1006-1014
• Main Authors: Modrzejewski, Krysten A, Herman, Ronald A
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Clinical Trials as Topic; Deoxycytidine - administration & dosage; Deoxycytidine - analogs & derivatives; Deoxycytidine - pharmacokinetics; Deoxycytidine - therapeutic use; Drug Administration Schedule; Drug Interactions; Drug Resistance, Multiple, Viral; Emtricitabine; HIV Infections - drug therapy; HIV Infections - virology; HIV-1 - drug effects; HIV-2 - drug effects; Humans; Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors - administration & dosage; Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors - pharmacokinetics; Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors - therapeutic use
• ISSN: 1060-0280; 1542-6270
• DOI: 10.1345/aph.1D302

OBJECTIVE: To review the pharmacology, virology, pharmacokinetics, safety, and efficacy of the nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NRTI) emtricitabine. DATA SOURCES: English-language reports were accessed using MEDLINE (1966-June 2003) and the Iowa Drug Information Service database (1966-June 2003) using emtricitabine and Coviracil as key words. (Coviracil was the proposed trade name for the product prior to approval.) The Internet was also searched using the terms HIV/AIDS conferences, then emtricitabine within the conference proceedings. STUDY SELECTION AND DATA EXTRACTION: Abstracts, posters, and oral presentations from scientific conferences, both published and unpublished, were included. Preference was given to published controlled trials. Studies providing a description of the pharmacology, virology, effectiveness, safety, or pharmacokinetics of emtricitabine were used in this review. DATA SYNTHESIS: Emtricitabine is an NRTI used to treat HIV-1 infection. Once-daily administration can decrease pill burden and potentially increase adherence to multidrug HIV therapy. Further, emtricitabine has shown equivalent or improved outcomes compared with lamivudine and stavudine. CONCLUSIONS: Emtricitabine is a safe and effective option for HIV-1 infection in adults as part of a multidrug regimen. It may be a better alternative than lamivudine for once-daily therapy because of its extended intracellular half-life and better than lamivudine and stavudine because of a possibly decreased potential for drug resistance.