Elsulfavirine: First Global Approval

<div>Compliance with Ethical Standards</div><div><br></div><div><i>Funding: </i>The preparation of this review was not supported by any external funding.</div><div><br></div><div><i>Conflicts of interest:</i> During the peer review process the manufacturer of the agent under review was offered an opportunity to comment on the article. Changes resulting from any comments received were made by the authors on the basis of scientific completeness and accuracy. Zaina T. Al-Salama is a salaried employee of Adis/Springer, is responsible for the article content and declares no relevant conflicts of interest.</div><div><br></div><div>Additional information about this Adis Drug Review can be found <b><a href="http://www.springer.com/gp/adis/products-services/adis-journals-newsletters/adis-drug-reviews">here</a>.</b></div><div><br></div><div>Abstract</div><div><br></div><div>Elsulfavirine (Elpida®) is a new-generation non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI) being developed by Viriom for the treatment and prevention of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infections. It is the prodrug of the active compound VM-1500A, a small molecule selective NNRTI, which prevents HIV replication. In June 2017, elsulfavirine received its first global approval in Russia for the treatment of HIV-1 infections in combination with other antiretroviral medicines. Other formulations of this drug are also being evaluated in preclinical and phase II studies for the treatment of HIV infections and/or pre-exposure and post-exposure prophylaxis. This article summarizes the milestones in the development of elsulfavirine leading to this first approval in HIV-1 treatment. Access to the full article can be found <b><a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40265-017-0820-3">here</a>.</b></div><div><br></div><div>© Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature 2017</div><div><br></div>