 In the design process of nelfinavir, an orally bioavailable and nonpeptidic inhibitor, iterative protein cocrystal structure analysis of peptidic inhibitors was used and parts of the inhibitors were replaced by nonpeptidic substituents.Nelfinavir contains a novel 2-methyl-3-hydroxybenzamide group, whereas its carboxyl terminal contains the same DIQ group as saquinavir.Nelfinavir was marketed in 1997 and was the first protease inhibitor to be indicated for pediatric AIDS.