Emtricitabine (commonly called FTC, systematic name 2',3'-dideoxy-5-fluoro-3'-thiacytidine[2]), with trade name Emtriva (formerly Coviracil), is a nucleosidereverse-transcriptase inhibitor (NRTI) for the prevention and treatment of HIV infection in adults and children. In 2019, it was the 494th most commonly prescribed medication in the United States, with more than 3thousand prescriptions.[3]
Emtricitabine exhibits clinical activity against the hepatitis B virus (HBV), but is not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of HBV infection.[5] Among individuals with chronic HBV infection, emtricitabine treatment results in significant histologic, virologic, and biochemical improvement. The safety profile of emtricitabine during treatment is similar to that of a placebo. Emtricitabine, like all other FDA approved drugs, cures neither HIV nor HBV infection. In a study involving individuals with HBV infection, symptoms of infection returned in 23% of emtricitabine-treated individuals who were taken off therapy.[7] In studies involving individuals with chronic HIV infection, viral replication also resumes when study subjects are taken off therapy.[8] As with drugs used to treat HIV infection, drugs used to treat HBV infection may have to be used in combination to prevent the evolution of drug resistant strains. The effectiveness of emtricitabine in combination with other anti-HBV drugs has not been established.
In clinical practice, toxicity with emtricitabine is unusual. The most common treatment-related adverse events are diarrhea, headache, nausea, and rash. These symptoms are generally mild to moderate in severity, but they caused 1% of clinical trial patients to give up treatment. Skin discoloration, which is typically reported as hyperpigmentation and usually affects either the palms of the hands or the soles of the feet, is reported in less than 2% of individuals and is almost exclusive to patients of African origin.
Emtricitabine is an analogueofcytidine. The drug works by inhibiting reverse transcriptase, the enzyme that copies HIV RNA into new viral DNA. By interfering with this process, which is central to the replication of HIV, emtricitabine can help to lower the amount of HIV, or "viral load", in a patient's body and can indirectly increase the number of immune system cells (namely T cells/CD4+ T-cells). Both of these changes are associated with healthier immune systems and decreased likelihood of serious illness.
It was approved by the FDA July 2, 2003.[10] It is very similar to lamivudine (3TC) and cross-resistance between the two is near-universal.[medical citation needed]
^US 5814639, Liotta DC, Schinazi RF, Choi WB, "Method for the synthesis, compositions and use of 2'-deoxy-5-fluoro-3'-thiacytidine and related compounds", issued 29 September 1998, assigned to Emory UniversityArchived 31 May 2021 at the Wayback Machine
^World Health Organization (2019). World Health Organization model list of essential medicines: 21st list 2019. Geneva: World Health Organization. hdl:10665/325771. WHO/MVP/EMP/IAU/2019.06. License: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO.
^"Emtriva EPAR". European Medicines Agency. 17 September 2018. Archived from the original on 24 July 2020. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
^Lim SG, Ng TM, Kung N, Krastev Z, Volfova M, Husa P, et al. (January 2006). "A double-blind placebo-controlled study of emtricitabine in chronic hepatitis B". Archives of Internal Medicine. 166 (1): 49–56. doi:10.1001/archinte.166.1.49. PMID16401810.
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