Drug Dosing Toolkit

Viread (tenofovir)

Type of Drug: Nucleotide Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitor

Nucleotide reverse transcriptase inhibitors are also known as NRTIs, nucleotide analogues, or "nukes."

When the HIV virus enters a healthy cell, it attempts to make copies of itself. It does this by using an enzyme called reverse transcriptase. NRTIs block that enzyme, so HIV cannot make new copies of itself.