Powerful new HIV drugs made by New Jersey pharmaceutical companies are about to hit the market, offering new hope for many patients.

Tests have shown these new drugs work for patients who are not responding to HIV drugs already on the market. Some patients don?t respond because their strain of the virus is already resistant to drugs. St. Michael?s Hospital in Newark, home of the state?s largest HIV clinic, conducted trials of Johnson and Johnson?s TMC 125. The drug is expected to be on the market later this year. Merck is also expected to market a new drug within a year.

Doctors say new drugs are important in treating HIV because the virus changes within a patient, which could cause the body to stop responding to medication. Infectious disease expert Doctor Stephen Smith says the new drugs prevent HIV from reproducing itself in the body.

For an extended interview with Doctor Stephen Smith on the new HIV drugs, go to channel 612 on your iO digital cable box and select iO Extra.