Selzentry/Celsentri(ViiV) in trial for HIV Prevention

The first clinical trial to test whether drug regimens containing Selzentry/Celsentri (maraviroc) from Viiv HealthCare, are also safe and tolerable when taken once daily by HIV-uninfected individuals at increased risk for acquiring HIV infection. The eventual goal is to see if the drug regimens can reduce the risk of infection. The trial involves a strategy known as pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP, in which HIV-uninfected individuals who are at risk for contracting the virus take one or two HIV drugs routinely in an effort to prevent infection. Called Novel Exploration of Therapeutics for PrEP, or NEXT-PrEP, the two-year study is sponsored and funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health. The medication is currently approved to treat HIV infection.