How does combination therapy work?

HIV treatment prevents the virus from multiplying in the body.

It works like this: in order to replicate, HIV enters certain human cells and takes control of the cell. Instead of producing new human cells, the cell now creates new HIV viruses. Some drugs prevent the virus from entering the cell in the first place. Others prevent HIV from taking command of the cell. And still others prevent the cell from producing new viruses.

One drug alone is not enough, as the virus produces many different versions of itself in the replication process. Different drugs work (or don’t work) against each of the variations of HIV.  

But if you take several different drugs, they attack HIV more effectively. The drugs stop the virus with combined force. This method is called combination therapy.