Lopinavir-Ritonavir is sold under the brand name Kaletra. This is a fixed-dose combination medication used for the treatment of HIV/AIDS. The drugs help to lessen the amount of HIV in your body so your immune system can work better. This lowers your chance of getting HIV complications and improves your quality of life. Both Lopinavir and Ritonavir belong to a class of drugs known as HIV protease inhibitors. Ritonavir increases or boosts the levels of Lopinavir. Therefore, it helps Lopinavir work better.

HIV or called Human Immunodeficiency Virus attacks the cells that help the body fight infection. It makes a person more vulnerable to other infections and diseases. AIDS is the late stage of HIV infections that happens when the immune system of the body is badly damaged because of the virus. Without HIV medicine, people with AIDS typically survive about 3 years. Once someone has a dangerous opportunistic illness, life expectancy falls to about 1 year. HIV medicine can still help people at this stage of HIV infection and it can even be life-saving. In the U.S., most people with HIV do not develop AIDS because taking HIV medicine every day as prescribed stops the progression of the disease.

Mechanism Of Action
Lopinavir and Ritonavir are both inhibitors of HIV protease. Viral resistance develops rapidly when HIV protease inhibitors are given alone and used with other antiretrovirals.
Lopinavir mainly provides an anti-viral activity by preventing the cleavage of the Gag-Pol polyprotein precursors into individual functional proteins. This leads to the formation of immature and non-infectious viral particles.
Ritonavir enhances Lopinavir activity by inhibiting its certain metabolism. Thus, it increases the plasma levels of Lopinavir.

For the Treatment of COVID-19
Medical authorities have used this prescription to have a study for the treatment of COVID-19. They have conducted a random, controlled, and open-label trial which involves hospitalized adult patients with confirmed COVID-19. A total of 199 patients underwent randomization, 99 of them went to the Lopinavir-Ritonavir group. As a result, there was no benefit was observed with this prescription. There were only gastrointestinal adverse events that were more common in the Lopinavir-Ritonavir group.

What is COVID-19?
COVID-19 stands for Coronavirus Disease 2019. This type of disease has already spread throughout the world. Because the spread of the disease is from person to person. It may be through a droplet when a person infected sneezes or coughs and it may also be on touched surface. The droplet that lands on the surface can stay for hours as well as on the air. That’s why social or physical distancing is very important to follow. It is to help avoid the spread of this infectious disease. People are thought to be most contagious when they are most symptomatic. So, it is very important to practice social distancing these days. The signs and symptoms of COVID-19 include:
⦁ Cough
⦁ Fever
⦁ Difficulty breathing
Some patients may also experience:
⦁ Diarrhea
⦁ Sore throat
⦁ Runny nose
⦁ Nasal congestion
⦁ Aches and pains