Lopinavir is an antiretroviral of the protease inhibitor class. It is used against HIV infections as a fixed-dose combination with another protease inhibitor, ritonavir (lopinavir/ritonavir). It was patented in 1995 and approved for medical use in 2000. Considered now as second-line therapy in the West, it is still prescribed in LMIC, especially among children living with HIV. Lopinavir and ritonavir can be taken as a tablet or an oral solution, a preferred option in children. In the early stages of COVID-19 pandemics, lopinavir was repurposed against the SARS-CoV-2 virus in the hope of disturbing its protease activity.

Side effects

Side effects, interactions, and contraindications have only been evaluated in the drug combination lopinavir/ritonavir. They include nausea, vomiting, and stomach aches.

Pharmacology

Lopinavir is highly bound to plasma proteins (98–99%). Reports are contradictory regarding lopinavir penetration into the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Anecdotal reports state that lopinavir cannot be detected in the CSF; however, a study of paired CSF-plasma samples from 26 patients receiving lopinavir/ritonavir found lopinavir CSF levels above the IC50 in 77% of samples.

Research

A 2014 study indicates that lopinavir is effective against the human papilloma virus (HPV). The study used the equivalent of one tablet twice a day applied topically to the cervices of women with high-grade and low-grade precancerous conditions. After three months of treatment, 82.6% of the women who had high-grade disease had normal cervical conditions, confirmed by smears and biopsies. Lopinavir has been shown to impair protein synthesis via AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) and eEF2 kinase (eEF2K) activation, a mechanism that is similar to the antiviral effect of protein phosphatase 1 inhibitors. Lopinavir was found to inhibit MERS-CoV replication in the low-micromolar range in cell cultures. In 2020, lopinavir/ritonavir was found not to work in severe COVID-19. In this trial the medication was started typically around 13 days after the start of symptoms. A long-acting injectable formulation of lopinavir is under clinical trial aiming at monthly dosing (NCT05850728).