How SUNLENCA® Works
An innovative approach to HIV treatment
First, it’s important to understand the life cycle of HIV
Medicines that fight HIV in similar ways are grouped together in something called a treatment class. Most HIV treatment classes fight the virus at one step in the HIV life cycle. To effectively fight HIV, a complete treatment regimen should include 2 or more treatment classes.
HIV LIFE CYCLE
Sometimes, HIV can develop resistance to 1 or more medicines, which means that medicine and others in that drug class may no longer work. Using different classes of HIV treatments and taking treatment as prescribed to help get to and stay undetectable helps keep HIV from developing resistance to your treatment regimen.
CD4 cells are an important part of the immune system that help the body fight infections.
CD4, cluster of differentiation 4.
HIV-1 can develop resistance to HIV treatments. That’s why sometimes they can stop working and need to be changed.
SUNLENCA DISRUPTS THE ASSEMBLY OF 3 LIFE CYCLE STEPS
SUNLENCA works differently and is in an HIV treatment class of its own
SUNLENCA is the first approved medicine within an entirely new HIV-1 treatment class: the capsid inhibitor. This means it works differently than other HIV medicines by disrupting the HIV capsid, which is important to the virus life cycle.
SUNLENCA is also the first medicine to fight HIV at 3 different steps in the virus life cycle. SUNLENCA does not treat HIV on its own. It works in combination with other HIV medications. People receiving SUNLENCA injections or tablets will continue to take their other HIV-1 medications as prescribed.
Adding SUNLENCA to your other HIV medicines may be your shot to help lower the amount of HIV virus in your blood.
