New approaches to inhibition of activity of HIV integrase

There is an urgent need for new drugs to treat human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. Current treatments are becoming ineffective as viral strains emerge that are resistent to existing drugs. This project aims to develop compounds that bind to the integrase enzyme of HIV-1 and inhibit its activity. Although drugs that inhibit HIV integrase have only been used clinically for a relatively short period of time, resistant strains of HIV have already begun to emerge. We have identified compounds that bind to HIV-integrase at a different location to the current drugs. These will be developed into inhibitors that may have a different resistance to current inhibitors, which will expand the arsenal of drugs for treatment of HIV infection.