Antiretroviral News and Research

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Roche announces availability of new HIV-1 viral load test in the U.S.

Roche announced today the U.S. availability of a new HIV-1 viral load test based on the company's proprietary dual-target approach. The COBAS TaqMan HIV-1 Test v2.0 for use with the High Pure System enables labs to combine an FDA-approved process for manual specimen preparation with an automated real-time PCR analyzer for amplification and detection.

From Roche Sequencing and Life Science 4 Oct 2012

Starting HIV-infected patients on ART reduces food insecurity, improves physical health

Starting HIV-infected patients on antiretroviral therapy reduces food insecurity and improves physical health, thereby contributing to the disruption of a lethal syndemic, UCSF and Massachusetts General Hospital researchers have found in a study focused on sub-Saharan Africa.

4 Oct 2012

Galectin-1 drives growth of Kaposi sarcoma tumors

A sugar-loving protein drives the growth of Kaposi sarcoma (KS) tumors, according to a study published on October 1st in The Journal of Experimental Medicine. Interfering with these sugary interactions inhibited growth of Kaposi sarcomas in mice, hinting at the potential for new treatment strategies in humans.

2 Oct 2012

Incidence of esophageal, stomach cancers increased in AIDS

The risk for esophageal and stomach carcinomas, as well as non-Hodgkin lymphomas, is significantly increased in people with AIDS, although the incidence of lymphomas has decreased, the results of a US and UK study reveal.

1 Oct 2012

Progress on women's, children's health provides optimism for further success

Noting successes achieved under the Every Woman Every Child campaign and the Global Plan towards the elimination of new HIV infections among children by 2015 and keeping their mothers alive, UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibe writes in the Huffington Post's "The Big Push" blog that leaders "have stepped up and stood strong for critical issues on the women's and children's health agenda to advance the health Millennium Development Goals and ensure the sustainability of results beyond 2015."

26 Sep 2012

FDA approves Mylan's ANDA for generic Antivert

Mylan Inc. today announced that its subsidiary Mylan Pharmaceuticals Inc. has received final approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for its Abbreviated New Drug Application for Meclizine Hydrochloride Tablets USP, 12.5 mg, 25 mg and 50 mg.

21 Sep 2012

Study uncovers why some HIV-positive people take long time to progress to full-blown AIDS

One of the big mysteries of AIDS is why some HIV-positive people take more than a decade to progress to full-blown AIDS, if they progress at all.

20 Sep 2012

VOA News report examines PEPFAR's use of generic drugs, discusses search for HIV vaccine

In a recent edition of VOA News' "Science In The News," correspondents Bob Doughty and Shirley Griffith report on "the growing use of generic drugs in fighting HIV" and discuss "the search for an effective vaccine against HIV."

19 Sep 2012

No association between XMRV/pMLV and chronic fatigue syndrome

The causes of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) have long eluded scientists. In 2009, a paper in the journal Science linked the syndrome-sometimes called myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME)-to infection with a mouse retrovirus called XMRV (xenotropic murine leukemia virus (MLV)-related virus).

18 Sep 2012

Study estimates drug concentrations of Truvada and tenofovir to reduce risk of HIV among MSM

Several large clinical trials have demonstrated that a daily oral dose of one or two antiretroviral drugs used to treat HIV infection can prevent infection in an approach known as pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP.

15 Sep 2012

Uganda releases strategy to reduce HIV infections; Activists question country's ability to meet goals

"In response to rising HIV prevalence, Uganda's government has announced a strategy to reduce new HIV infections by up to 30 percent by 2015, but activists have cast doubt on its ability to achieve this ambitious goal," PlusNews reports.

14 Sep 2012

TPP trade agreement could threaten access to medicines

"Right now, in Leesburg, Va., the office of the U.S. Trade Representative is negotiating a so-called 'trade agreement' -- the 'Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement' -- that could put the lives of millions of innocent civilians at risk" by potentially limiting access to life-saving medications, including antiretroviral drugs, Robert Naiman, policy director at Just Foreign Policy, writes in the Huffington Post Blog.

12 Sep 2012

Novel method could help advance fight against persistent 'HIV latency'

Scientists at the Gladstone Institutes have gotten us one step closer to understanding and overcoming one of the least-understood mechanisms of HIV infection-by devising a method to precisely track the life cycle of individual cells infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.

12 Sep 2012

Data from Sangamo BioSciences’ SB-728-T Phase 1 clinical programs on HIV/AIDS

Sangamo BioSciences, Inc. announced that data from its Phase 1 clinical programs to develop SB-728-T, a novel therapeutic approach designed to generate a "functional cure" for HIV/AIDS, were presented at the 52nd Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (ICAAC).

11 Sep 2012

Researchers, policymakers to gather at AIDS Vaccine 2012 conference in Boston

"With a completed trial in Thailand that offered evidence a vaccine could be developed to protect people from HIV, emerging science identifying antibodies against HIV, and a current trial testing a novel vaccine combination against the virus potentially producing more information in the next year, this is an exciting time to hold a conference, organizers of AIDS Vaccine 2012 say," the Center for Global Health Policy's "Science Speaks" blog reports.

7 Sep 2012

NPR blog examines 'test and treat' approach as HIV/AIDS prevention tactic

NPR's "Shots" blog examines the "test and treat" approach to HIV care and prevention, which "relies on the fact that taking HIV drugs dramatically reduces a person's risk of transmitting the virus to others," and, "[a]s more and more people are put on medication, the epidemic theoretically should fizzle out." The blog continues, "Test and treat sounds good on paper, but some doctors and policymakers have doubts about its feasibility on a large scale."

7 Sep 2012

Democrats, Republicans find 'common ground' in acknowledging Bush's AIDS work

In Foreign Policy's "Passport" blog, Associate Editor Uri Friedman reflects on former President George W. Bush's efforts against AIDS, highlighting PEPFAR, which he "established in 2003 and which now supports antiretroviral treatment for 4.5 million people around the world."

7 Sep 2012

Pfizer, Mylan enter settlement agreement to resolve generic Detrol LA litigation

Mylan Inc. today announced that it and its subsidiary, Mylan Pharmaceuticals Inc., have entered into a settlement agreement with Pfizer Inc., Pharmacia & Upjohn Company LLC and Pfizer Health AB that will resolve the parties' patent litigation in connection with Mylan Pharmaceuticals' Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) for Tolterodine Tartrate ER capsules, 2 mg and 4 mg, which is the generic version of Pfizer's Detrol LA, indicated for the treatment of overactive bladder with symptoms of urge urinary incontinence, urgency, and frequency.

7 Sep 2012

Kenya to investigate allegations of forced sterilizations among HIV-positive women

"Kenya has launched an investigation after researchers claimed HIV-positive women were being routinely sterilized without their consent in government hospitals," the Guardian reports.

6 Sep 2012

Study finds increase in HIV treatment use in the U.S.

Between 2000 and 2008, the proportion of HIV-infected patients in the U.S. receiving effective treatment known as highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) increased, and HIV-infected patients appeared to be less infectious and have healthier immune systems at death, according to a study led by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

4 Sep 2012