Results of a recent Canadian study suggest that Epzicom is as safe and effective as Truvada in people with HIV who are being treated for the first time.

The results conflict with those from two earlier studies that found that Truvada is more effective, particularly for people who start treatment with higher viral loads (amount of HIV in the blood). However, another large study had found no difference between the two.

“These results support the use of either NRTI [nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor] backbone in the initial therapy of antiretroviral…

On October 8, the Antiviral Drugs Advisory Committee of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommended approval of Selzentry (maraviroc) for use in treatment-naïve patients. The Committee voted 10-4 in favor of extending Selzentry’s use to newly diagnosed individuals, but the FDA has yet to grant official approval.

Selzentry was originally approved for treatment-experienced patients in 2007. Pfizer, Selzentry’s manufacturer, applied for its expanded use in September after receiving results from study 1026.

Study 1026 compared a 300 mg dose of Selzentry given twice daily in combination with Combivir (zidovudine/lamivudine)…