In 1987, the Food and Drug Administration approved the first drug against AIDS. AZT (zidovudine) was a breakthrough antiviral medication against HIV (human immunodeficiency virus).

John D. Hamilton (Department of Veteran Affairs Medical Center, Durham, N.C.): "The results of the V.A. Cooperative Study on AZT (zidovudine)--which compared early vs. later AZT treatment in patients ...

Again, the selectivity of the inhibitory activity of AZT for a viral enzyme — HIV reverse ... 1980s — genome sequencing and structure-based drug design — then facilitated a new approach ...