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Gilead Sciences second quarter total revenues increase 13% to $2.41 billion

Gilead Sciences, Inc. announced today its results of operations for the quarter ended June 30, 2012.

26 Jul 2012

Recent release: Blogs discuss advancements in HIV preventative, therapeutic R&D

In this post in the Center for Global Health Policy's "Science Speaks" blog, IAVI President and CEO Margaret McGlynn, AVAC Executive Director Mitchell Warren and UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibe highlight the release of a report from the HIV Vaccine & Microbicides Resource Tracking Working Group.

26 Jul 2012

Dapivirine Phase III trial now underway in Africa to treat HIV in women

A large clinical trial testing the long-term safety and effectiveness of a new approach for preventing HIV in women - a vaginal ring used once a month - is now underway in Africa, researchers announced today at the XIX International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2012).

25 Jul 2012

Merck, Chimerix sign license agreement for CMX157 to treat HIV infection

Chimerix, Inc. today announced the execution of a license agreement granting Merck, known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, exclusive worldwide rights to CMX157, Chimerix's novel lipid acyclic nucleoside phosphonate currently being evaluated to treat HIV infection.

24 Jul 2012

FDA approves 152 antiretroviral drugs in association with PEPFAR to treat HIV/AIDS

Today, U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Margaret A. Hamburg announced the agency has approved or tentatively approved a total of 152 antiretroviral drugs in association with the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) to treat those infected with HIV/AIDS in countries that lack the tools needed to fight the AIDS epidemic.

24 Jul 2012

Study shows disturbing rates of new HIV infections among U.S. black MSM

Study results released today by the HIV Prevention Trials Network (HPTN) show disturbing rates of new HIV infections occurring among black gay and bisexual men in the U.S. (also known as men who have sex with men, or MSM), particularly young black MSM.

24 Jul 2012

Implementing multifaceted global effort may help end global HIV/AIDS pandemic

Ending the global HIV/AIDS pandemic may be possible by implementing a multifaceted global effort that expands testing, treatment, and prevention programs, as well as meets the scientific challenges of developing an HIV vaccine and possibly a cure, according to a Viewpoint in the July 25 issue of JAMA, a theme issue on HIV/AIDS.

23 Jul 2012

Researchers identify high ARV drug exposure in hair samples of HIV uninfected infants

Researchers from the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) and Makerere University in Uganda have used hair and blood samples from three-month old infants born to HIV-positive mothers to measure the uninfected babies' exposure—both in the womb and from breast-feeding—to antiretroviral medications their mothers were taking. The results, they said, are surprising.

23 Jul 2012

WHO identifies key actions countries can take to prevent HIV infections among people who inject drugs

WHO has identified four key actions countries can take to prevent viral hepatitis B and C among people who inject drugs. Of the estimated 16 million people who inject drugs worldwide, it is estimated that 10 million are infected with hepatitis C. An additional 1.2 million are infected with hepatitis B.

21 Jul 2012

New WHO guidance recommends use of ARVs for HIV prevention

WHO has issued its first guidance to countries that are considering offering HIV medications, known as antiretrovirals (ARVs), to protect people who do not have the virus but who are at high risk of HIV infection.

21 Jul 2012

uniQure receives positive recommendation from EMA CHMP for Glybera

uniQure announced today that the European Medicines Agency's Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) has issued a positive opinion that recommends marketing authorization of Glybera (alipogene tiparvovec) as a treatment for lipoprotein lipase deficiency (LPLD) under exceptional circumstances.

21 Jul 2012

HIV in MSM increasing in countries of all incomes

A new Lancet Series published to coincide with the AIDS2012 meeting highlights a population where the HIV epidemic is growing in countries of all incomes: men who have sex with men (MSM). The first paper in the Series charts the epidemiology of HIV among MSM, and is by Professor Chris Beyrer, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA, and colleagues.

20 Jul 2012

NPR reports on Brazilian clinical trial of Truvada as prevention strategy

NPR's "Shots" blog reports on one of the drug trials considered by the FDA in its approval of the antiretroviral drug Truvada for pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) to prevent HIV among people at risk of contracting the virus, which "was done at the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation Research Institute, also known as Fiocruz, in Rio de Janeiro."

19 Jul 2012

Clinical trial to evaluate maraviroc-based PrEP regimens for HIV prevention

Scientists are launching the first clinical trial to test whether drug regimens containing maraviroc, a medication currently approved to treat HIV infection, are also safe and tolerable when taken once daily by HIV-uninfected individuals at increased risk for acquiring HIV infection. The eventual goal is to see if the drug regimens can reduce the risk of infection.

19 Jul 2012

Report shows high rates of HIV infections and deaths from AIDS among Black MSM

Today, the Black AIDS Institute released its latest report, Back of the Line: The State of AIDS Among Black Gay Men in America. The landmark report highlights alarming data that show disproportionately high rates of HIV infections and deaths from AIDS among Black MSM, why the disparities persist and are growing worse, and the urgent need for local and national leadership to immediately address the devastating health crisis.

19 Jul 2012

Advocates, policy experts respond to FDA approval of Truvada for HIV prevention

Though the FDA's Monday approval of the antiretroviral drug Truvada for pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) to reduce the risk of HIV infection among people at risk of contracting the virus "was hailed by many as an important step in the fight against AIDS, concerns that people will incorrectly use the drug -- potentially spurring drug resistance -- led others to blast the agency for not laying down tougher rules," the Wall Street Journal's "Health Blog" writes.

18 Jul 2012

FDA approves Truvada as HIV prevention strategy for high-risk, uninfected individuals

The FDA on Monday announced the approval of the first drug for pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) to prevent HIV among people at risk of contracting the virus, "which some are calling a landmark in the fight against AIDS," ABC News reports.

18 Jul 2012

U.S. FDA approves Gilead’s Truvada to minimize risk of sexually-acquired HIV infection

Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Truvada (emtricitabine/tenofovir disoproxil fumarate), the first drug approved to reduce the risk of HIV infection in uninfected individuals who are at high risk of HIV infection and who may engage in sexual activity with HIV-infected partners. Truto reduce the risk of sexually-acquired HIV infection in adults at high risk.

17 Jul 2012

Gilead receives FDA approval for Truvada to reduce risk of sexually acquired HIV-1 infection

Gilead Sciences, Inc. today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved once-daily oral Truvada (emtricitabine and tenofovir disoproxil fumarate), in combination with safer sex practices, to reduce the risk of sexually acquired HIV-1 infection in adults at high risk.

17 Jul 2012

Studies show success, highlight challenges of PrEP strategy

The results of three clinical trials published on Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine show that the antiretroviral drug Truvada, a combination of tenofovir and emtracitabine, can be "highly effective at preventing infection in HIV-free individuals -- as long as those individuals take the drug every day as prescribed," CNN's "The Chart" reports (7/11).

13 Jul 2012