Lopinavir (Kaletra)

Lopinavir was developed by Abbott in an attempt to improve on the HIV(AIDS) resistance and serum protein-binding properties of the company’s earlier protease inhibitor, ritonavir. Given alone, lopinavir has too low of abioavailability, but, like many HIV protease inhibitors its blood plasma levels can be greatly increased by using low doses of rionavir. Abbott decided to pursue a strategy of administering lopinavir with sub therapeutic doses of ritonavir and lopinavir is marketed as a formulation using ritonavir. Its the first HIV medication to not be offered individually.

Kaletra Lopinavir/ritonavir was approved for use by the FDA on September 2000, and 1 year later in Europe. The patent in the United States will expire in 2016.

Abbott was one of the first users of the APS, a synchrotron radiation light source at Argonne Nat. Lab. One of the early research projects undertaken at the Advanced Photon Source was the Human Immunodeficiency Virus. Using x ray crystallography, researchers located the points of attack of HIV protease inhibitors, medication that block the breakdown of proteins. Protease inhibitors stop HIV from making new copies of itself by blocking the last step in the process, when the virus attempts to replicate – and out of that discovery came the drug lopinavir.

Abbott was one of the first users of the APS, a synchrotron radiation light source at Argonne Nat. Lab. One of the early research projects undertaken at the Advanced Photon Source was the Human Immunodeficiency Virus. Utilizing X ray crystallography researchers were able to find the points of attack of the HIV protease inhibitors, agents that prevent the breakdown of proteins. PI’s help stop HIV from making copies of itself by stopping the last step in the process when the virus attempts to replicate and out of that discovery came the drug Kaletra.