HIV Overview

FDA-Approved HIV Medicines

Last Reviewed: March 23, 2023

Treatment with HIV medicines is called antiretroviral therapy (ART). ART is recommended for everyone with HIV, and people with HIV should start ART as soon as possible. People on ART take a combination of HIV medicines (called an HIV treatment regimen) every day. A person's initial HIV treatment regimen generally includes three HIV medicines from at least two different HIV drug classes.

The following table lists HIV medicines recommended for the treatment of HIV infection in the United States, based on the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) HIV/AIDS medical practice guidelines. All of these drugs are approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The HIV medicines are listed according to drug class and identified by generic and brand names. Click on a drug name to view information on the drug from the Clinicalinfo Drug Database.

To see a timeline of all FDA approval dates for HIV medicines, view the HIVinfo FDA Approval of HIV Medicines infographic.

FDA-Approved HIV Medicines

Drug Class Generic Name
(Other names and acronyms)
Brand Name FDA Approval Date
Nucleoside Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors (NRTIs)
NRTIs block reverse transcriptase, an enzyme HIV needs to make copies of itself. abacavir
(abacavir sulfate, ABC)
Ziagen December 17, 1998
emtricitabine
(FTC)
Emtriva July 2, 2003
lamivudine
(3TC)
Epivir November 17, 1995
tenofovir disoproxil
fumarate

(tenofovir DF, TDF)
Viread October 26, 2001
zidovudine
(azidothymidine, AZT, ZDV)
Retrovir March 19, 1987
Non-Nucleoside Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors (NNRTIs)
NNRTIs bind to and later alter reverse transcriptase, an enzyme HIV needs to make copies of itself. doravirine
(DOR)
Pifeltro August 30, 2018
efavirenz
(EFV)
Sustiva September 17, 1998
etravirine
(ETR)
Intelence January 18, 2008
nevirapine
(extended-release nevirapine, NVP)
Viramune June 21, 1996
Viramune XR (extended release) March 25, 2011
rilpivirine
(rilpivirine hydrochloride, RPV)
Edurant May 20, 2011
Protease Inhibitors (PIs)
PIs block HIV protease, an enzyme HIV needs to make copies of itself. atazanavir
(atazanavir sulfate, ATV)
Reyataz June 20, 2003
darunavir
(darunavir ethanolate, DRV)
Prezista June 23, 2006
fosamprenavir
(fosamprenavir calcium, FOS-APV, FPV)
Lexiva October 20, 2003
ritonavir
(RTV) *Although ritonavir is a PI, it is generally used as a pharmacokinetic enhancer as recommended in the Guidelines for the Use of Antiretroviral Agents in Adults and Adolescents with HIV and the Guidelines for the Use of Antiretroviral Agents in Pediatric HIV Infection.
Norvir March 1, 1996
tipranavir
(TPV)
Aptivus June 22, 2005
Fusion Inhibitors
Fusion inhibitors block HIV from entering the CD4 T lymphocyte (CD4 cells) of the immune system. enfuvirtide
(T-20)
Fuzeon March 13, 2003
CCR5 Antagonists
CCR5 antagonists block CCR5 coreceptors on the surface of certain immune cells that HIV needs to enter the cells. maraviroc
(MVC)
Selzentry August 6, 2007
Integrase Strand Transfer Inhibitor (INSTIs)
Integrase inhibitors block HIV integrase, an enzyme HIV needs to make copies of itself. cabotegravir
(cabotegravir sodium, CAB)
Vocabria January 22, 2021
dolutegravir
(dolutegravir sodium, DTG)
Tivicay Tivicay PD August 12, 2013 June 12, 2020
raltegravir
(raltegravir potassium, RAL)
Isentress October 12, 2007
Isentress HD May 26, 2017
Attachment Inhibitors
Attachment inhibitors bind to the gp120 protein on the outer surface of HIV, preventing HIV from entering CD4 cells. fostemsavir
(fostemsavir tromethamine, FTR)
Rukobia July 2, 2020
Post-Attachment Inhibitors
Post-attachment inhibitors block CD4 receptors on the surface of certain immune cells that HIV needs to enter the cells. ibalizumab-uiyk
(Hu5A8, IBA, Ibalizumab, TMB-355, TNX-355)
Trogarzo March 6, 2018
Capsid Inhibitors
Capsid inhibitors interfere with the HIV capsid, a protein shell that protects HIV's genetic material and enzymes needed for replication. lenacapavir
(GS-6207, GS-HIV, GS-CA2, GS-CA1)
Sunlenca December 22, 2022
Pharmacokinetic Enhancers
Pharmacokinetic enhancers are used in HIV treatment to increase the effectiveness of an HIV medicine included in an HIV treatment regimen. cobicistat
(COBI, c)
Tybost September 24, 2014
Combination HIV Medicines
Combination HIV medicines contain two or more HIV medicines from one or more drug classes. abacavir and lamivudine
(abacavir sulfate / lamivudine, ABC / 3TC)
Epzicom August 2, 2004
abacavir, dolutegravir, and lamivudine(abacavir sulfate / dolutegravir sodium / lamivudine, ABC / DTG / 3TC)  Triumeq August 22, 2014
Triumeq PD March 30, 2022
abacavir, lamivudine, and zidovudine
(abacavir sulfate / lamivudine / zidovudine, ABC / 3TC / ZDV)
Trizivir November 14, 2000
atazanavir and cobicistat
(atazanavir sulfate / cobicistat, ATV / COBI)
Evotaz January 29, 2015
bictegravir, emtricitabine, and tenofovir alafenamide
(bictegravir sodium / emtricitabine / tenofovir alafenamide fumarate, BIC / FTC / TAF)
Biktarvy February 7, 2018
cabotegravir and rilpivirine
(CAB and RPV, CAB plus RPV, Cabenuva kit, cabotegravir extended-release injectable suspension and rilpivirine extended-release injectable suspension)
Cabenuva January 22, 2021
darunavir and cobicistat
(darunavir ethanolate / cobicistat, DRV / COBI)
Prezcobix January 29, 2015
darunavir, cobicistat, emtricitabine, and tenofovir alafenamide
(darunavir ethanolate / cobicistat / emtricitabine / tenofovir AF, darunavir ethanolate / cobicistat / emtricitabine / tenofovir alafenamide, darunavir / cobicistat / emtricitabine / tenofovir AF, darunavir / cobicistat / emtricitabine / tenofovir alafenamide fumarate, DRV / COBI / FTC / TAF)
Symtuza July 17, 2018
dolutegravir and lamivudine
(dolutegravir sodium / lamivudine, DTG / 3TC)
Dovato April 8, 2019
dolutegravir and rilpivirine
(dolutegravir sodium / rilpivirine hydrochloride, DTG / RPV)
Juluca November 21, 2017
doravirine, lamivudine, and tenofovir disoproxil fumarate
(doravirine / lamivudine / TDF, doravirine / lamivudine / tenofovir DF, DOR / 3TC / TDF)
Delstrigo August 30, 2018
efavirenz, emtricitabine, and tenofovir disoproxil fumarate
(efavirenz / emtricitabine / tenofovir DF, EFV / FTC / TDF)
Atripla July 12, 2006
efavirenz, lamivudine, and tenofovir disoproxil fumarate
(EFV / 3TC / TDF)
Symfi March 22, 2018
efavirenz, lamivudine, and tenofovir disoproxil fumarate
(EFV / 3TC / TDF)
Symfi Lo February 5, 2018
elvitegravir, cobicistat, emtricitabine, and tenofovir alafenamide
(elvitegravir / cobicistat / emtricitabine / tenofovir alafenamide fumarate, EVG / COBI / FTC / TAF)
Genvoya November 5, 2015
elvitegravir, cobicistat, emtricitabine, and tenofovir disoproxil fumarate
(QUAD, EVG / COBI / FTC / TDF)
Stribild August 27, 2012
emtricitabine, rilpivirine, and tenofovir alafenamide
(emtricitabine / rilpivirine / tenofovir AF, emtricitabine / rilpivirine / tenofovir alafenamide fumarate, emtricitabine / rilpivirine hydrochloride / tenofovir AF, emtricitabine / rilpivirine hydrochloride / tenofovir alafenamide, emtricitabine / rilpivirine hydrochloride / tenofovir alafenamide fumarate, FTC / RPV / TAF)
Odefsey March 1, 2016
emtricitabine, rilpivirine, and tenofovir disoproxil fumarate
(emtricitabine / rilpivirine hydrochloride / tenofovir disoproxil fumarate, emtricitabine / rilpivirine / tenofovir, FTC / RPV / TDF)
Complera August 10, 2011
emtricitabine and tenofovir alafenamide
(emtricitabine / tenofovir AF, emtricitabine / tenofovir alafenamide fumarate, FTC / TAF)
Descovy April 4, 2016
emtricitabine and tenofovir disoproxil fumarate
(emtricitabine / tenofovir DF, FTC / TDF)
Truvada August 2, 2004
lamivudine and tenofovir disoproxil fumarate
(3TC / TDF)
Cimduo February 28, 2018
lamivudine and zidovudine
(3TC / ZDV)
Combivir September 27, 1997
lopinavir and ritonavir
(ritonavir-boosted lopinavir, LPV/r, LPV / RTV)
Kaletra September 15, 2000