HIV/AIDS Glossary

A group of drugs that share common properties, including a similar mechanism of action, chemical structure, or approved use. Approved antiretroviral (ARV) HIV drugs are divided into seven drug classes based on how each drug interferes with the HIV life cycle. These seven classes include the nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs), non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTIs), protease inhibitors (PIs), fusion inhibitors, CCR5 antagonists, post-attachment inhibitors, and integrase strand transfer inhibitors (INSTIs).