Novel aryl diketo-containing inhibitors of HIV-1 integrase

HIV-1 integrase is a promising therapeutic target for the development of drugs to treat HIV infection. Aryl diketo-based analogs, disclosed independently by scientists from Merck and Shionogi pharmaceutical companies, are a unique class of compounds that exhibit potent integrase inhibition and display good antiviral effects in HIV-infected cells. The progress of Merck's L-870810 and Shionogi's S-1360 to phase II clinical trials has promised the inclusion of integrase inhibitors in cocktail combination therapies in the near future. This review presents a critical overview of research related to this new class of integrase inhibitors.