Agenerase is approved for use in combination with other medications to treat HIV and AIDS. It works by inhibiting the multiplication process of the HIV virus. The medication comes in a capsule or oral solution (liquid) form and is typically taken two or three times a day. Possible side effects of Agenerase include nausea, vomiting, and a rash.
Agenerase
® (
amprenavir) is a prescription medicine used to treat
HIV and
AIDS. It is only approved for use in combination with other HIV medications.
Agenerase is made by GlaxoSmithKline.
Agenerase belongs to a group of HIV medications known as protease inhibitors. These medicines work by blocking a process that the HIV virus needs in order to multiply.
HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) is the virus that causes AIDS. Like other viruses, it must use a person's own cells to reproduce. Once inside an infected cell, the HIV virus uses the cell to make DNA, which enables it to make new HIV viruses that can spread to other cells. The DNA is made in long strands that must be clipped into shorter, usable strands using enzymes called proteases.
Agenerase is a protease inhibitor, which means that it stops protease enzymes from clipping DNA into short strands. Because the long, unclipped DNA strands cannot be used to make new viruses, this can stop the spread of HIV to uninfected cells. Agenerase is not a cure for HIV or AIDS, however. Although the medication can help prevent the HIV virus from infecting healthy cells in the body, it cannot help the cells that have already been infected with the virus.
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