However, the protease inhibitors have been linked to skin rashes and heightened anemia in some patients.
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The only other frontline drugs are combinations which include protease inhibitors which are more difficult to take.
Protease inhibitors shut down AIDS enzymes by locking onto readily available toeholds, but hep-C's protease is smooth.
But others, including Schering-Plough and Vertex Pharmaceuticals, prevailed and now have protease inhibitors in early human trials.
Its biggest selling point: It does not seem to raise cholesterol as similar drugs, called protease inhibitors, do.
Doctors hope, ultimately, to boost cure rates by combining protease inhibitors with a second drug class called polymerase inhibitors.
The drugs, so-called hepatitis C protease inhibitors, represent the first class of agents that directly target the hepatitis C virus.
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The leader in the pack with protease inhibitors for the hepatitis virus, say Markowitz and Jenner, is Vertex Pharmaceuticals of Cambridge, Mass.
Thus far the most promising new class of such enzyme-attacking drugs looks to be protease inhibitors, best known for combating the progress of HIV infections in the body.
The agency says some drugs should never be taken with Mevacor including protease inhibitors, a class of HIV drugs and certain drugs used to treat bacterial and fungal infections.
Patients often have to take different types of drug several times a day and, with protease inhibitors and some other drugs, there are restrictions on what and when patients can eat.
The leader in the pack with protease inhibitors for the hepatitis virus, say Markowitz and Jenner, is Vertex Pharmaceuticals (nasdaq: VRTX - news - people ) of Cambridge, Mass.
InterMune of Brisbane, Calif. partnered with Swiss pharmaceutical titan Roche to work on several of InterMune's protease inhibitors, one of which is expected to begin clinical trials in humans before the end of this year.
If they're taking protease inhibitors and they're on their drugs and their immune system is fairly healthy, they're not going to be terribly susceptible to MRSA. We see MRSA infections when the immune system is pretty depleted, either in people with HIV or some other diseases.
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