Fuzeon is a prescription HIV and AIDS medication that is only approved for use in combination with other HIV medications. It works by preventing the HIV virus from entering human cells and multiplying. Fuzeon comes in the form of an injection that is given just under the skin of the upper arm, abdomen, or the front of the thigh twice a day.
Fuzeon
® (
enfuvirtide) is a prescription medication used as a
treatment for HIV and
AIDS. It is approved for use only in combination with other
HIV medications. Fuzeon is usually reserved for people who have tried other HIV medications without success. The medication is not taken by mouth; instead, it must be injected just under the skin.
Fuzeon is made by Roche Pharmaceuticals.
Fuzeon belongs to a group of medications known as fusion inhibitors. Because Fuzeon works on the outside of cells, it is significantly different from most other types of HIV medications, which work on the inside of cells.
HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) is the virus that causes AIDS. Fuzeon works by stopping HIV from entering human cells. It does not allow the cell membranes (the outer coatings) of the virus and the human cell to fuse together, an important step necessary for HIV to enter the human cell. If HIV cannot enter human cells, it cannot reproduce itself.
Fuzeon is not a cure for HIV or AIDS, however. Although it can help stop HIV from infecting healthy cells in the body, Fuzeon does not help cells that have already been infected with the virus.
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