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Hepatitis C wonder drug Ribasphere gets approval from FDA

The President and CEO of Three Rivers Pharmaceuticals, Donald J. Kerrish, RPh., stated, “The approval of Ribasphere™ marks a milestone in the treatment of HCV. Ribasphere™ is positioned to break down the economic barriers that have existed for the past decade in treating this chronic and potentially deadly disease.” Traditionally the cost of treatment for HCV can range from $20,000 – $25,000 annually. “Our aim is to bring affordable medicine to all individuals infected with this dreadful disease.” Mr. Kerrish continued.

8 Apr 2004

African summit on treatment of AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria

In Gaborone, Botswana, government officials and representatives of drug regulatory agencies from 23 nations, the research-based and generic pharmaceutical industries, public health leaders, health care providers, advocacy groups (including persons living with HIV/AIDS), academia and members of non-governmental organizations held discussions from March 29-31 on the scientific and technical principles for fixed-dose combination drug products (FDCs) for use in the treatment of AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, the most serious infectious disease threats facing the world today.

8 Apr 2004

Scientists studying vaccinia virus, a relative of smallpox, have determined that a gene necessary for virus replication also has a key role in turning off inflammation

Scientists at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign studying vaccinia virus, a close relative of smallpox, have determined that a gene necessary for virus replication also has a key role in turning off inflammation, a crucial anti-viral immune response of host cells.

6 Apr 2004

Call for sexual health policy to be driven by science instead of politics

Today three leading national public health organizations – the National Coalition of STD Directors (NCSD), the American Social Health Association (ASHA), and the National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association (NFPRHA) – renewed their call for sexual health policy to be driven by science instead of politics.

6 Apr 2004

Missed opportunities for addressing HIV testing remain unacceptably high

The researchers, led by Jeffrey Samet, MD, professor of medicine at BUSM and chief of General Internal Medicine at Boston Medical Center (BMC), performed a 10-year retrospective chart review of patients seen at an HIV intake clinic between January 1994 and June 2001 who: 1) tested positive for HIV during the 12 months prior to their presentation at the intake clinic and 2) had one or more encounters recorded in the medical record prior to their HIV positive status.

5 Apr 2004

Doctors Likelier to Delay Prescribing Antiretroviral Drugs for Women and Minority HIV Patients

A new UCLA study finds that doctors who follow guidelines recommending the delay of antiretroviral therapy for non-adherent HIV patients are likelier to put off that treatment for Latinos, women and poor patients than they do for others. In addition, doctors are slower to prescribe protease inhibitors for African American patients whether or not the physician follows the guidelines.

4 Apr 2004

Compounds that may stop replication of T-cell leukemia virus

Researchers are analyzing several compounds that may inhibit the enzyme that is essential for the reproduction of the Human T-cell Leukemia Virus Type 1 (HTLV-I), which has infected 15 to 20 million people worldwide. The virus causes the fatal adult T-cell leukemia in up to 10 percent of those infected.

1 Apr 2004

First Canadian therapeutic HIV vaccine trial

Clinicians from the McGill University Health Centre and the Centre hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal (CHUM) are participating in the first Canadian therapeutic HIV vaccine trial. Funded by a number of public and private institutions, including the Canadian Network for Vaccines and Immunotherapeutics (CANVAC) and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, this project will begin in April.

30 Mar 2004

WHO says more pregnant women getting antenatal care

The number of pregnant women in developing countries receiving antenatal care during pregnancy has increased significantly since 1990, signalling that an untapped opportunity exists to reach poor women with a whole package of life-saving health services, according to a joint report issued today by UNICEF and the World Health Organization.

30 Mar 2004

Chinese testing of Hepatitis B rapid test kit complete

Medical Services International Inc. is pleased to announce that it has completed a second set of testing of its Hepatitis B rapid test kit in the People's Republic of China.

29 Mar 2004

Almost half of all medicines globally are used irrationally according to WHO

Almost half of all medicines globally are used irrationally. This, say medicines experts at the World Health Organization (WHO), can have severe consequences: adverse drug reactions, drug resistance, protracted illness and even death. In addition, the financial cost incurred by individuals and governments due to irrational use is unnecessary and often extremely high, particularly in developing countries where patients often pay for medicines out of pocket.

29 Mar 2004

IPM takes over Microbicide development to protect against sexual transmission of HIV

International Partnership for Microbicides (IPM) today announced that it has reached a farsighted agreement with Tibotec Pharmaceuticals Ltd, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson. The aim is to develop the promising compound TMC120 as a safe and effective microbicide to help protect women from infection with HIV. This agreement marks the first collaboration in the microbicide field between a major healthcare company and a public-private partnership such as IPM.

29 Mar 2004

Haemophilia Society President presents Hepatitis C (HCV) Facts to UK Government

Haemophilia Society President to challenge government for second time in Lords question on proposed Hepatitis C ex gratia payment scheme On Thursday 25 March, the first business in the House of Lords will be further questioning of Ministers by the Haemophilia Society’s President, Lord Morris of Manchester.

27 Mar 2004

New oral test for HIV approved by FDA

FDA today approved the use of oral fluid samples with a rapid HIV diagnostic test kit that provides screening results with over 99 percent accuracy in as little as 20 minutes. Until now, all rapid HIV tests required the use of blood in order to get such rapid results.

27 Mar 2004

St. John’s wort may interfere with cancer-fighting drug’s ability to prevent relapse in leukemia patients

St. John’s wort, an herb thought to be a safe, natural remedy for mild depression, may interfere with a powerful cancer-fighting drug’s ability to prevent relapse in leukemia patients, a University of Florida pharmacy researcher will report March 27 at the annual meeting of the American Society for Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics.

26 Mar 2004

p53 protein peptide stops cancer in its tracks

Researchers have dreamed of thwarting cancer by using proteins that halt cell growth and kill the tumor. In theory, the approach should work. In practice, however, scientists have not had an easy time of getting tumor suppressor proteins into cells where they can block growth effectively.

26 Mar 2004

Cryptosporidium parvum parasite could help to develope new therapies for the disease

Cryptosporidium parvum, an insidious, one-celled, waterborne parasite that lodges in the intestines of infected people and animals and for which there is currently no effective treatment, is missing key structures normally found in similar parasites, say researchers supported by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), one of the National Institutes of Health. The results of their genome sequencing project, could help scientists home in on new drug targets that may lead to therapies for the disease.

26 Mar 2004

Partnership to improve TB vaccine, Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG)

Crucell N.V.and the Aeras Global TB Vaccine Foundation of Bethesda, Maryland, announced today a new collaboration on the pre-clinical and clinical development of candidate tuberculosis (TB) vaccines. Aeras has agreed to provide Crucell up to USD$2.9 million contingent upon meeting certain development milestones, for development of TB vaccine candidates.

25 Mar 2004

£5m for HIV/AIDS trial involving HIV patients in London, Moscow, South Africa and Australia

A joint Oxford University/Imperial College research programme into HIV/AIDS has received £5 million support from the Wellcome Trust to carry out a drug trial involving HIV patients in London, Moscow, South Africa and Australia.

24 Mar 2004

WHO meets in New Delhi on challenge of treating an additional one million patients a year

The number of tuberculosis patients diagnosed and treated under DOTS, the internationally recommended strategy for TB control, is now rising much faster than at any time since DOTS expansion began in 1995, according to a new report by the World Health Organization (WHO). Indeed, the past two years have witnessed accelerated growth in the implementation of DOTS programmes worldwide.

24 Mar 2004