WHAT IS ZIDOVUDINE?

WHAT IS ZIDOVUDINE?

Zidovudine (Retrovir®, AZT) is a drug used for antiretroviral therapy (ART). It was first manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline. Glaxo’s patent on zidovudine expired in 2005. Generic versions made by Aurobindo, Ranbaxy and Roxane were approved in 2005. Zidovudine is also known as azido-deoxythymidine, zidovudine or ZDV.

Zidovudine was the first drug approved for the treatment of HIV. It is a nucleoside analog reverse transcriptase inhibitor, or nuke. These drugs block the reverse transcriptase enzyme. This enzyme changes HIV’s genetic material (RNA) into the form of DNA. This has to occur before HIV’s genetic code gets inserted into an infected cell’s own genetic codes.
WHO SHOULD TAKE ZIDOVUDINE?

Zidovudine was approved in 1987 as an antiretroviral (ARV) drug for people with HIV infection. Recommended dosages are available for children over 6 weeks old.

There are no absolute rules about when to start ART. You and your health care provider should consider your CD4 cell count, your viral load, any symptoms you are having, and your attitude about taking HIV medications. Fact Sheet 404 has more information about guidelines for the use of ART.

If you take zidovudine with other ARV drugs, you can reduce your viral load to extremely low levels, and increase your CD4 cell counts. This should mean staying healthier longer.

Because zidovudine was the first ARV approved, it has been studied more than any other drug. New drugs have been tested by comparing them to zidovudine. “Early treatment” with zidovudine was tested in people with no symptoms of HIV disease. The study showed no benefit to taking zidovudine. But zidovudine is used as part of combination therapy for people who are exposed to HIV through a workplace accident (needle stick or splash).

Zidovudine greatly reduces transmission of HIV from the mother to her child. It is given to HIV-positive pregnant women from the 4th month of pregnancy until their baby is born, and to the newborn baby for 6 weeks.