News (Updated January 15,
2006)
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Thu Jan 12, 2006 4:27 AM ET
ZURICH (Reuters) - Drug maker Roche Holding AG <ROG.VX> said on Thursday
it would help generic drug makers in the developing world produce versions of
HIV drug saquinavir, a second-line treatment for the virus.
Roche will offer manufacturers in sub-Saharan Africa and the world's least developed countries the technical expertise they need to make the drug, which is recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) to treat the virus that leads to AIDS.
Saquinavir is a protease inhibitor, one of a class of drugs which work by blocking part of the virus and preventing it from replicating itself.
Protease inhibitors are used in combination with other anti-HIV drugs in so-called treatment cocktails which aim to reduce the amount of HIV in the body.
AIDS campaigners have been pushing drug companies to offer second-line treatment at lower prices, following discounts offered on the first-line products.
Thu Jan 12, 2006 7:23 PM GMT
By David Douglas
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Reductions in the amount of HIV in the blood that occur during the initial period of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) predicts the likelihood of survival up to six years later, Danish and US researchers report.
Because of this, lead investigator Dr. Nicolai Lohse told Reuters Health, "even single episodes of rising viral load during the period 6 to 18 months after initiating antiretroviral therapy should raise concern among the clinical care team."
Lohse of Odense University Hospital and colleagues came to this conclusion after an observational study of 2,046 patients. The patients were divided into three groups based on the amount of time they had detectable virus during the first to 6 to 18 months of HAART. The findings are reported in the current issue of the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases.
Over 72 months, patients with no detectable virus had an average CD4+ count increase of 3.3 cells per microliter per month. For patients who had detectable virus 1 percent to 99 percent of the time, the corresponding number was 2.9, and for patients who had never had undetectable viral levels, the figure was 2.6.
CD4+ cell counts are used to gauge the function of the immune system. As levels of these cells decline, so does the ability of the patient's immune system to function.
At 72 months, the proportion of patients in these three categories with an HIV RNA level below 400 copies per mL was 96 percent, 83 percent and 57 percent. Overall survival by group was 92 percent, 85.6 percent and 76.1 percent.
Because early episodes of loss of viral suppression "are associated with a bad long-term prognosis," concluded Lohse, "the physicians prescribing antiretroviral therapy should continue to work with patients to keep viral load under tight control."
SOURCE: Clinical Infectious Diseases, January 1, 2006.
Wed Jan 11, 1:24 PM ET
Thailand and China are set to release an herbal drug which they claim can strengthen the immune systems of people with HIV and help control the virus, Thai health authorities said.
The drug, called SH Instant, combines three medicinal herbs from China and two from Thailand and is the result of a six-year, 80 million baht (two million dollar) research project, according to the Medical Science Department of Thailand's public health ministry.
The drug combines the Chinese herbs yingchen, huangqi and ganchao with pluak rak mon (part of the mulberry root) and dok kham foi (extracted from safflowers).
"Based on our research, the herbal product SH Instant will effectively enhance immunity against HIV infection and will also create immunity in cases of drug-resistant HIV," the department's deputy chief Pongpan Wongmanee said in a statement.
Researchers based their findings on a study of 60 patients, which found that the 40 taking the drug fared better in fighting the virus than the 20 who did not.
Monday January 9, 10:30 am ET
The pill includes Bristol-Myers' Sustiva drug with Gilead's Truvada in a fixed dose. It uses a process called "bi-layer" technology to combine the drugs into one tablet.
The companies said they plan to file an application for the drug with the Food and Drug Administration sometime between April and June.
Separately, Gilead said it has completed a study of another AIDS drug, a treatment called JTK-303 or GS 9137 to block the HIV virus. The company said it will present results of the early-to-mid stage study at an upcoming scientific conference. Based on the results, Gilead said it now plans to look at three once-a-day doses for the therapy in a mid-stage trial starting in the first half of 2006.
Shares of Foster City, Calif.-based Gilead rose $1.14, or 2 percent, to $58.17 in morning trading on the Nasdaq. Shares of New York-based Bristol-Myers slipped 5 cents to $22.73 on the New York Stock Exchange.