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FDA continues review of Salix’s Crofelemer new drug application

Napo Pharmaceuticals, Inc. was informed today that the Food and Drug Administration is continuing its review of the new drug application seeking approval of crofelemer for the treatment of chronic diarrhea in people living with HIV/AIDS on anti-retroviral therapy.

6 Sep 2012

Advances in HIV/AIDS therapy and the International AIDS Conference: an interview with Professor Sharon Lewin

The anti-HIV drugs, also known as anti-retroviral therapy, came about in the mid ‘90’s. These involved using at least 3 different drugs together.

7 Aug 2012

Bone marrow transplant eradicates traces of HIV in men

Two men with longstanding HIV infections no longer have detectable HIV in their blood cells following bone marrow transplants. The virus was easily detected in blood lymphocytes of both men prior to their transplants but became undetectable by eight months post-transplant. The men, who were treated at Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH), have remained on anti-retroviral therapy.

27 Jul 2012

First Edition: July 24, 2012

Today's headlines include news from the campaign season as well as reports from the international AIDS conference currently taking place in Washington, D.C.

24 Jul 2012

Duke University to receive CHAVI-Immunogen Discovery grant for effective HIV vaccine

A large federal grant awarded to Duke University will fund a highly focused program to discover how to induce the precise immune factors needed for effective vaccines against HIV.

17 Jul 2012

Scientists discover new way to convert cord blood cells into iNC

For more than 20 years, doctors have been using cells from blood that remains in the placenta and umbilical cord after childbirth to treat a variety of illnesses, from cancer and immune disorders to blood and metabolic diseases.

17 Jul 2012

Special issue of AIDS and Behavior looks at latest behavioral interventions research

HIV prevention must be better targeted, according to David Holtgrave from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in the US, and colleagues. Health care professionals need a more detailed analysis and understanding of the interplay between HIV risk behavior, access to treatment and treatment success among those living with HIV. The authors discuss their proposed framework in a study in a special issue of Springer's journal AIDS and Behavior.

16 Jul 2012

HIV and AIDS treatment: An interview with Charles Flexner, MD

The best estimates at the moment reckon that there are about 25 million people infected with HIV. Most of those are in resource-limited settings, including sub-Saharan Africa, South East Asia and India.

11 Jul 2012

Safer alternative to experimental gene therapy against HIV infection

Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute have discovered a surprisingly simple and safe method to disrupt specific genes within cells. The scientists highlighted the medical potential of the new technique by demonstrating its use as a safer alternative to an experimental gene therapy against HIV infection.

2 Jul 2012

Investment in global health programs protects national security, promotes economic growth

"Investment in global health programs protects our national security, promotes economic growth, and upholds humanitarian values," Jenny Eaton Dyer, executive director of Hope Through Healing Hands and a member of the Tennessee State Advisory Committee of the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition, writes in this opinion piece in the Tennessean.

13 Jun 2012

UNAIDS director calls for ARV production in Africa

"Executive Director of UNAIDS Michel Sidibe Wednesday called for the production of anti-retroviral drugs [ARVs] in Africa to make the life-saving medicines against AIDS accessible to patients and boost the medicines manufacturing sector on the continent," PANA/AfriqueJet reports.

8 Jun 2012

Chronic diseases, bloodstream infections on the rise among HIV+ ICU patients

The expanded use of antiretrovirals, potent drugs used to treat retroviral infections such as human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), has been linked to significant decreases in hospital mortality rates among severely ill HIV-positive (HIV+) patients nationwide, primarily due to a decrease in opportunistic infections, according to a new study by researchers at Stanford University.

24 May 2012

Salix first quarter total product revenue increases 62% to $171.1M

Salix Pharmaceuticals, Ltd. today announced financial and operating results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2012 and other business updates.

8 May 2012

Gladstone researcher wins 2012 Alumni Achievement Award from WUSTL

Warner C. Greene, MD, PhD-who directs virology and immunology research at the Gladstone Institutes-has won the 2012 Alumni Achievement Award from the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

26 Apr 2012

International Microbicides Conference to discuss state of HIV prevention research

Researchers, activists and funders are meeting this week in Sydney to discuss the state of HIV prevention research. The biennial International Microbicides Conference, which was opened on Sunday evening by the Honorable Tanya Plibersek MP, Australian Minster of Health, is taking place amid renewed optimism about development and delivery of new HIV prevention options with the potential for ending the AIDS epidemic, including anti-retroviral based microbicides and pre-exposure prophylaxis.

17 Apr 2012

FDA approves Avioq HTLV-I/II Microelisa System

Avioq, Inc. announced it has received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the Avioq HTLV-I/II Microelisa System. The test is used for the qualitative detection of antibodies to Human T-Lymphotropic Virus Type I (HTLV-I) and Human T-Lymphotropic Virus Type II (HTLV-II) in human serum or plasma.

29 Mar 2012

UCSD first to treat glioma with investigational viral vector

UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center researchers and surgeons are among the first in the nation to treat patients with recurrent brain cancer by directly injecting an investigational viral vector into their tumor. The treatment is being developed by a local San Diego Company, Tocagen Inc.

2 Mar 2012

Combination of Toca 511 and 5-FC may prolong survival in glioblastoma

Tocagen Inc. today announced the publication of data showing the company's investigational treatment for high grade glioma eradicates brain tumors and provides a dramatic survival benefit in mouse models of glioblastoma.

4 Feb 2012

Potential human health risk from illegal wildlife trade

An article released today in PLoS ONE entitled, Zoonotic Viruses Associated with Illegally Imported Wildlife Products, from a collaborative study led by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), identified evidence of retroviruses and herpesviruses in illegally imported wildlife products confiscated at several U.S. international airports, including John F. Kennedy International Airport, George Bush Intercontinental-Houston and Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International.

11 Jan 2012

Bladder cancer is one of the top 10 most common forms of cancer in the US

Bladder cancer, most frequently caused by smoking and exposure to carcinogens in the workplace, is one of the top 10 most common forms of cancer in men and women in the U.S. More than 70 percent of bladder cancers are diagnosed in stage T1 or less and have not invaded the muscle layer.

11 Jan 2012