Pharmaceutical drugs are given several names: 

• First, a research name based on its chemical make-up or manufacturer, e.g. DMP266. 
• Second, a generic name which is the chemical name of the medicine e.g. efavirenz. 
• Third, a brand name which belongs to a particular company. A brand name starts with a capital letter and is generally written in italics, e.g. Sustiva. 

This booklet lists the most common names a drug has at the start of a drug entry. The most common name for each drug is used in the text. 

There are six main types (‘classes’) of antiretroviral drugs: 

Nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs), and nucleotide reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NtRTIs), which target an HIV protein called reverse transcriptase. 

This class of drugs forms the ‘backbone’ of a first-line HIV treatment combination and is usually taken in a pill that combines a number of drugs.

Non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTIs), which also target reverse transcriptase, but in a different way to NRTIs and NtRTIs. 

Protease inhibitors (PIs), which target an HIV protein called protease. 

Entry inhibitors, which stop HIV from entering human cells. There are two types: fusion inhibitors and CCR5 inhibitors. CCR5 inhibitors won’t work in everyone and are not often used for first-line treatment. You would have a test to see if this type of treatment would be effective before starting it.

Integrase inhibitors, which target a protein in HIV called integrase, and stop the virus from integrating into the DNA of human cells. 

Each class of drug attacks HIV in a different way. Generally drugs from two (or sometimes three) classes are combined to ensure a powerful attack on HIV. 

The drugs listed in this booklet are those licensed for use in the UK or the European Union, and which have been recommended for use in BHIVA’s 2012 HIV treatment guidelines. There may be occasions where other anti-HIV drugs, not covered here, are prescribed because of very unusual circumstances. You can find out about these drugs in the A to Z of antiretroviral drugs.