Antiretroviral News and Research

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Updates on development of Truvada and TMC278

Gilead Sciences, Inc. provided an update today on the development of the fixed-dose combination of Truvada (emtricitabine and tenofovir disoproxil fumarate) and Tibotec Pharmaceuticals' investigational non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor TMC278 (rilpivirine hydrochloride, 25 mg).

21 Apr 2010

New research shows link between infection-related diseases and risk of cancer

New research is emerging that suggests a link between infection-related diseases and risk of cancer, according to findings presented here at the American Association for Cancer Research 101st Annual Meeting 2010.

20 Apr 2010

Myriad Pharmaceuticals terminates merger agreement with Javelin Pharmaceuticals

Myriad Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced the termination, effective as of Friday, April 16, 2010, of its merger agreement with Javelin Pharmaceuticals.

19 Apr 2010

Florida to enact health care legislation to improve access to ARV therapy

Florida is poised to enact health care legislation that would add clarity to existing state statutes by requiring that all state-regulated health plans include lifesaving antiretroviral (ARV) HIV/AIDS drugs on their drug formularies or preferred drug lists.

15 Apr 2010

Boston Globe examines how PEPFAR budget pressures are affecting AIDS clinics in Africa

"U.S. officials have asked some AIDS clinics overseas to stop enrolling new patients in a U.S.-sponsored program that provides lifesaving antiretroviral drugs, in a bid to stem the rising costs of one of the most ambitious US assistance programs, according to interviews with doctors and official correspondence," the Boston Globe reports.

13 Apr 2010

Javelin Pharmaceuticals intends to terminate Merger Agreement with Myriad Pharmaceuticals

Myriad Pharmaceuticals, Inc today announced that it has received a notice from Javelin Pharmaceuticals, Inc. of its intent to terminate the merger agreement between the two companies.

13 Apr 2010

U.S. seeks to constrain global AIDS program costs

The Boston Globe: "US officials have asked some AIDS clinics overseas to stop enrolling new patients in a US-sponsored program that provides lifesaving antiretroviral drugs" in an effort to stem the rising costs of this assistance program. This step has triggered concern among some AIDS advocates "that the Obama administration is curtailing its commitment to a program that provides lifesaving drugs for 2.4 million people and that many view as President Bush's most successful foreign policy legacy.

13 Apr 2010

Gilead Sciences doses first patient in Quad Phase III clinical program

Gilead Sciences, Inc. today announced that it has dosed the first patient in the Phase III clinical program evaluating its investigational fixed-dose, single-tablet "Quad" regimen of elvitegravir, cobicistat (formerly GS 9350), emtricitabine and tenofovir disoproxil fumarate.

13 Apr 2010

$13,000 per year AIDS drugs Reyataz: AHF calls upon BMS to lower price

AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) is pressing New York-based drug firm Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) to lower the price of its key AIDS drug, Reyataz—currently priced at over $13,000 per year—for lifesaving, but financially hard-hit AIDS Drug Assistance Programs (ADAPs) nationwide.

7 Apr 2010

NewsHour examines research of HIV positive patients who can suppress the virus

PBS' NewsHour examines how a team of U.S. researchers is heading up a study in Lima, Peru, of patients living with HIV whose immune systems are able to suppress the virus.

3 Apr 2010

Recent releases in Global Health

"Achieving the [Millennium Development Goal] MDG 4 target of reducing newborn and child mortality will require concerted efforts to scale up evidence-based interventions, especially community-based preventive and therapeutic strategies in primary care," according to a Lancet comment that reflects on the challenges associated with developing "the appropriate mix of strategies" to improve maternal health.

3 Apr 2010

Daily Nation examines fundraising efforts in Kenya to support patients living with HIV/AIDS

The Daily Nation examines efforts underway in Kenya to raise money for patients living with HIV/AIDS who are in need antiretroviral (ARV) therapy.

31 Mar 2010

New ways to halt the rise of antimicrobial-resistant infections

Preventing, controlling and treating drug-resistant infections is one of the major challenges in modern medicine. Antimicrobial Resistance goes beyond simple definitions and microbiological data to fully explore this rapidly changing area, describing evidence for effective interventions, costs, treatment strategies and directions for future research.

27 Mar 2010

Data on Argos Therapeutics' Phase 2a AGS-004 immunotherapy trial presented at Banff HIV Vaccines meeting

Argos Therapeutics today announced the presentation of data from the Phase 2a trial of AGS-004, providing information on rebound viral genetic diversity in HIV patients treated with the personalized immunotherapy following antiretroviral therapy (ART) interruption. The data were discussed in a poster session at the Keystone Symposia Global Health Series HIV Vaccines meeting, held March 21-26, 2010 in Banff, Canada.

26 Mar 2010

Medicare Roundup: Changes from health reform, payments for HIV patients

USA Today: "Perhaps the biggest factor in whether your Medicare costs will rise or fall depends on your Medicare plan. There are two: a traditional Medicare plan run by the federal government and Medicare Advantage, which is run by private insurance companies. Medicare Advantage costs more than the traditional plan, but provides more generous benefits.

26 Mar 2010

Innovation holds the key for solving healthcare's dilemmas, says Eli Lilly

In an address to the American Chamber of Commerce in Germany today, John C. Lechleiter, Ph.D., chairman, president and chief executive officer of Eli Lilly and Company, said that innovation holds the key to solving one of healthcare's thorniest dilemmas: how to improve quality and access while controlling costs.

25 Mar 2010

UNAIDS Executive Director calls for 'serious attention to TB' on World TB Day

In a statement marking World Tuberculosis Day, UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibe "warned Wednesday that double infections of HIV and TB could become the next new epidemic," the Associated Press reports. Sidibe said, "I'm calling for serious attention to TB, and serious attention to TB-HIV co-infection" (Corder, 3/24).

25 Mar 2010

AHF to protest against Merck's pricing of Isentress

AIDS Healthcare Foundation will host a protest Wednesday morning, March 24th at 10:30am targeting Merck and Co. Pharmaceuticals over the pricing and policies for its key HIV/AIDS drug, Isentress, one of the most expensive first-line AIDS treatment in the US, during the Barclays Capital Global Healthcare Conference.

24 Mar 2010

Effective defense against HIV: Acne drug minocycline

Johns Hopkins scientists have found that a safe and inexpensive antibiotic in use since the 1970s for treating acne effectively targets infected immune cells in which HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, lies dormant and prevents them from reactivating and replicating.

20 Mar 2010

Recent releases in Global Health

A Lancet study performed a systematic review of HIV prevention and treatment services targeting injecting drug users (IDUs) globally based on the availability of "core interventions for IDUs: needle and syringe programmes (NSPs), opioid substitution therapy (OST) and other drug treatment, HIV testing and counselling, antiretroviral therapy (ART), and condom programmes." The authors conclude, "although the number of countries with core HIV prevention services is growing … worldwide, there are few countries in which the level of intervention coverage is sufficient to prevent HIV transmission" (Mathers et al., 3/20).

20 Mar 2010