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 therefore pursued a strategy of co-administering lopinavir with sub-therapeutic doses of ritonavir, and lopinavir is only marketed as a co-formulation with ritonavir. It is the first multi-drug capsule to contain a drug not available individually.
Kaletra Lopinavir/ritonavir was approved for use by the FDA on September 2000, and 1 year later in Europe. Its patent will expire in the US on June 26, 2016.
Abbott was one of the first users of the APS, a synchrotron radiation light source at Argonne Nat. Lab. One early reseach project undertaken at the APS was HIV. 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. An early research project undertaken at Advanced Photon Source was HIV. Using x ray crystallography, researchers located the points of attack of HIV protease inhibitors, medication that block 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.
