There are currently several classes of antiretrovirals and they all work in different ways against HIV.
Antiretroviral drug class | Examples |
Nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors | Tenofovir, emtricitabine, abacavir, lamivudine, didanosine, zidovudine |
Protease inhibitors | Atazanavir, darunavir, indinavir, lopinavir, ritonavir |
Non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors | Efavirenz, etravirine, nevirapine, rilpivirine |
Fixed-dose combinations
Some antiretroviral medicines have been combined into one pill, known as a "fixed-dose combination". This means that the most common treatments for people just diagnosed with HIV involve taking just 1 or 2 pills a day.
Read a complete list of antiretroviral medicines currently available in New Zealand(external link)