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Canadian drug company awarded Rwandan contract to provide combination antiretroviral

Rwanda recently accepted a bid from the Toronto-based generic drug company Apotex to supply its fixed-dose combination antiretroviral drug Apo-triAvir to the country, the Toronto Star reports (Toronto Star, 5/9).

13 May 2008

Experts say time to change strategies for HIV prevention in Africa

Experts on HIV/AIDS are calling for a change of strategies in dealing with HIV prevention in African countries.

12 May 2008

Starpharma reports positive VivaGel clinical study results

Starpharma Holdings Limited today announced positive results of a clinical trial that achieved all its objectives demonstrating that 3% SPL7013 Gel (VivaGel) was safe and well-tolerated in sexually abstinent women when administered vaginally, twice daily for 14 days.

11 May 2008

Access to generic HIV/AIDS drugs increasing following Thailand's decision to issue compulsory licenses, health official Says

Access to some antiretroviral drugs is increasing in Thailand because of the country's decision to issue compulsory licenses for certain medications, Winai Sawasdiworn, deputy secretary-general of the National Health Security Office, said recently, the Bangkok Post reports (Apiradee, Bangkok Post, 5/8).

11 May 2008

Southeast Asian officials meet in Laos to discuss HIV/AIDS prevention

Officials with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations recently met in Laos to examine methods of addressing the increasing rate of HIV/AIDS in the region, Xinhuanet reports.

11 May 2008

Kenya launches campaign to increase tuberculosis screening among HIV-positive people

The Kenyan government on Tuesday launched a 60 million shilling -- or about $975,000 -- campaign to increase the number of HIV-positive people who are screened for tuberculosis at public hospitals, Kenya's Nation reports. The campaign also aims to educate health workers to test people with TB for HIV.

11 May 2008

Latino Commission on AIDS Project focuses on HIV/AIDS among Hispanic immigrants in deep south

NPR's "Tell Me More" on Wednesday included a discussion with Tim Frasca of the Latino Commission on AIDS about the organization's Deep South Project. The project aims to develop strategies to address HIV/AIDS among Hispanics in Mississippi and six other Southern states with rapidly growing populations of new immigrants, Frasca, program coordinator for the project, said.

11 May 2008

South Carolina legislature approves $2.4 million for state ADAP

South Carolina lawmakers have approved $2.4 million for the state's AIDS Drug Assistance Program, the Columbia State reports (Reid, Columbia State, 5/8). ADAPs are federal- and state-funded programs that provide HIV/AIDS-related medications to low-income, uninsured and underinsured HIV-positive individuals (Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report, 4/9).

11 May 2008

HIV/AIDS funding in Tanzania expected to total $476 million, government report says

Funding for HIV/AIDS in Tanzania from the government and international donors from 2007 to 2008 is expected to total more than 568 billion Tanzanian shillings, or about $476 million, according to a recently released government report, the Africa Science News Service reports.

8 May 2008

HIV on the rise in Germany

The number of new HIV cases reported in Germany increased by 4% in 2007, according to data recently released by the Robert Koch Institute, Xinhua/People's Daily reports. The country recorded 2,752 new HIV cases last year, compared with 2,643 in 2006, the institute said (Xinhua/People's Daily, 5/6).

8 May 2008

Namibia to launch pilot HIV testing, counseling project

The Namibian Ministry of Health and Social Services will launch a pilot project to provide no-cost HIV testing and counseling in certain regions of the country to mark its National HIV Testing Day on May 9, Namibia's New Era reports.

8 May 2008

GeoVax Labs to launch phase II trials of HIV vaccine candidate

The Atlanta-based biotechnology firm GeoVax Labs plans to launch Phase II clinical trials of its experimental HIV vaccine this summer, company officials recently announced, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports (Hendrick, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 5/8).

8 May 2008

Rapid HIV tests highly effective in preventing mother-to-child HIV transmission in India

Rapid HIV tests have been found to be highly effective in preventing mother-to-child HIV transmission in clinical trials in India, according to a study published online Tuesday in PLoS Medicine, the Times of India reports (Sinha, Times of India, 5/7). For the study, the researchers used OraSure Technologies' OraQuick Advance Rapid HIV 1/2 Antibody Test (Derfel, Montreal Gazette, 5/6

8 May 2008

Shift in HIV prevention priorities needed - reducing multiple sexual partnerships and providing male circumcision services should be emphasized

According to a new policy analysis led by researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) and the University of California, Berkeley, the most common HIV prevention strategies-condom promotion, HIV testing, treatment of other sexually transmitted infections (STIs), vaccine and microbicide research, and abstinence-are having a limited impact on the predominantly heterosexual epidemics found in Africa.

8 May 2008

Scientist discovers mechanism that 'silences' unmatched genes during cellular reproduction

When most people discover mold on their bread, they immediately throw it out. Others see a world of possibilities in the tiny fungus. A University of Missouri scientist, along with a collaborative research team, has examined a new mechanism in the reproductive cycle of a certain species of mold.

8 May 2008

Scientists identify key roadblock to gene expression

A team of scientists has provided, for the first time, a detailed map of how the building blocks of chromosomes, the cellular structures that contain genes, are organized in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster. The work identifies a critical stop sign for transcription, the first step in gene expression, and has implications for understanding how the AIDS virus regulates its genes. The findings will be published in the 15 May 2008 issue of the journal Nature

8 May 2008

Research reveals workings of anti-HIV drugs

Using ingenious molecular espionage, scientists have found how a single key enzyme, seemingly the Swiss Army knife in HIV's toolbox, differentiates and dynamically binds both DNA and RNA as part of the virus's fierce attack on host cells. The work is described this week (May 7) in the journal Nature.

8 May 2008

ART drugs for pregnant women eradicates baby's risk of HIV

Researchers in Britain say a baby's risk of contracting HIV from its mother can be almost eradicated with the use of antiretroviral drugs.

8 May 2008

Urgent action needed to address HIV/AIDS among U.S. minority communities as cases 'skyrocket,' expert says

HIV/AIDS rates among blacks and Hispanics in the U.S. have reached alarming levels, and the U.S. urgently needs to establish new initiatives to address the spread of the disease among the groups, Beny Primm, executive director of Brooklyn, N.Y.-based Addiction Research and Treatment, said at an event in Connecticut on Sunday, the Hartford Courant reports.

7 May 2008

Government, businesses should cooperate to mitigate effects of HIV/AIDS in Papua New Guinea, conference delegate says

The government and businesses in Papua New Guinea should work together to alleviate the effects of HIV/AIDS and avoid a "catastrophic health burden," Australian Parliamentary Secretary for Pacific Island Affairs Duncan Kerr said Monday at the start of the 24th Papua New Guinea-Australia Business Forum, Papua New Guinea's Post-Courier reports.

7 May 2008

HIV News and Research

Canadian drug company awarded Rwandan contract to provide combination antiretroviral

Experts say time to change strategies for HIV prevention in Africa

Starpharma reports positive VivaGel clinical study results

Access to generic HIV/AIDS drugs increasing following Thailand's decision to issue compulsory licenses, health official Says

Southeast Asian officials meet in Laos to discuss HIV/AIDS prevention

Kenya launches campaign to increase tuberculosis screening among HIV-positive people

Latino Commission on AIDS Project focuses on HIV/AIDS among Hispanic immigrants in deep south

South Carolina legislature approves $2.4 million for state ADAP

HIV/AIDS funding in Tanzania expected to total $476 million, government report says

HIV on the rise in Germany

Namibia to launch pilot HIV testing, counseling project

GeoVax Labs to launch phase II trials of HIV vaccine candidate

Rapid HIV tests highly effective in preventing mother-to-child HIV transmission in India

Shift in HIV prevention priorities needed - reducing multiple sexual partnerships and providing male circumcision services should be emphasized

Scientist discovers mechanism that 'silences' unmatched genes during cellular reproduction

Scientists identify key roadblock to gene expression

Research reveals workings of anti-HIV drugs

ART drugs for pregnant women eradicates baby's risk of HIV

Urgent action needed to address HIV/AIDS among U.S. minority communities as cases 'skyrocket,' expert says

Government, businesses should cooperate to mitigate effects of HIV/AIDS in Papua New Guinea, conference delegate says

Achieving and maintaining ISO/IEC 27001 and BS 10012 certifications

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

Examining how pain could play a direct protective role in the gut

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