HIV drugs News and Research

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ARCA receives approval to commence enrollment of first therapeutic trial using HIV vaccine candidate

News on the progress of a new trial may give new hope to patients with HIV who are dependent on anti-HIV drugs. The AIDS Research Consortium of Atlanta has received approval to begin enrollment of the first therapeutic trial ever conducted using a promising HIV vaccine candidate from Atlanta-based, GeoVax Inc, a biotechnology company that creates, develops and tests innovative HIV/AIDS vaccines.

14 Jun 2010

New findings may help researchers design drugs that can prevent HIV

Researchers at the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine and University of Nebraska Medical Center have created a three-dimensional picture of an important protein that is involved in how HIV -- the virus responsible for AIDS -- is produced inside human cells. The picture may help researchers design drugs that can prevent HIV from reproducing.

10 Jun 2010

NanoViricides anti-HIV drug candidates demonstrate efficacy in cell culture studies with HIV-1 isolates

NanoViricides, Inc. reports that its anti-HIV drug candidates demonstrated efficacy in the recently completed cell culture studies using two distinctly different HIV-1 isolates. The studies were performed in the laboratory of Carol Lackman-Smith at the Southern Research Institute, Frederick, Maryland.

8 Jun 2010

ART associated with reduced risk of HIV transmission to sexual partners, study shows

Research published in the Lancet online Thursday "provides the strongest evidence to date" that antiretroviral therapy might also be used to prevent transmission of HIV, Agence France-Presse reports. The observational study found that treating HIV-positive patients with ART reduced the risk of HIV transmission to their sexual partners by 92 percent (5/26).

28 May 2010

ARCA receives approval to begin enrollment of first therapeutic trial with GeoVax vaccine

GeoVax Labs, Inc., a biotechnology company that creates, develops and tests innovative HIV/AIDS vaccines, announced today The AIDS Research Consortium of Atlanta has received approval to begin enrollment of the first therapeutic trial ever conducted using a promising HIV vaccine candidate from GeoVax, Inc.

28 May 2010

Use of lubricants with anal sex associated with increased risk of rectal sexually transmitted infections

The risk of acquiring HIV through unprotected anal sex is at least 20 times greater than with unprotected vaginal sex and increases if other infections are already present in the rectal lining. Could the use of lubricants - at least certain kinds - be another risk factor among men and women who engage in receptive anal intercourse? Two studies presented today at the International Microbicides Conference in Pittsburgh, suggest the answer is yes.

27 May 2010

State Roundup: Oklahoma, S.C. and Ill. facing tough choices on health costs

States around the country are debating how to deal with health costs and tight budgets.

26 May 2010

Research on new types of anti-HIV drugs presented at International Microbicides Conference

Researchers testing a vaginal microbicide based on a new type of anti-HIV drug found it provided monkeys significant protection against infection with a virus similar to HIV, according to a study reported at the International Microbicides Conference in Pittsburgh today.

24 May 2010

Media examines recent Oxfam report on impact of aid to developing countries

In a recent report, Oxfam "outlines how aid has contributed to economic growth in poor countries by getting 33 million more children into school, boosting access to HIV drugs tenfold, funding tens of millions of anti-malaria bed nets, and building up health services," Reuters AlertNet reports (Rowling, 5/20).

21 May 2010

Chimerix commences first-in-human study of CMX157 for HIV

Chimerix, Inc., a biotechnology company developing orally-available antiviral therapeutics, announced the commencement of a first-in-human study of CMX157, a novel lipid conjugate of the nucleotide tenofovir with in vitro activity against both tenofovir-sensitive and tenofovir-resistant human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). CMX157 has the potential to increase efficacy and decrease toxicity as compared to tenofovir, and may enable the creation of new 'one pill, once-a-day', fixed-dose combination regimens for the treatment of HIV infection.

14 May 2010

AIDS 2010 to explore latest developments in HIV science

Organizers of the XVIII International AIDS Conference announced today that President Bill Clinton, founder of the William J. Clinton Foundation and 42nd President of the United States, and South African Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi will be among 19 high-level speakers who will address an estimated 25,000 conference attendees in Vienna this summer.

4 May 2010

Research documents early warning signs resulting from global pullback on AIDS funding

Rationing Funds, Risking Lives: World Backtracks on HIV Treatment, the new report from the International Treatment Preparedness Coalition, documents early warning signs resulting from the global pullback on AIDS commitment and funding: caps on the number of people enrolled in treatment programs, more frequent drug stock outs, and national AIDS budgets falling short.

26 Apr 2010

Banana lectin discovery may lead to potential new treatments for preventing sexual transmission of HIV

A potent new inhibitor of HIV, derived from bananas, may open the door to new treatments to prevent sexual transmission of HIV, according to a University of Michigan Medical School study published this week.

16 Mar 2010

Discovery of two new compounds opens new approach to drug design against HIV protease

A team of researchers at the renowned Scripps Research Institute has discovered two new compounds that prove the existence of new binding sites on HIV protease. Associate Professor C. David Stout, senior author of the study, explained "These results open the door to a whole new approach to drug design against HIV protease," which is an enzyme used by HIV to create new, infectious viral particles.

2 Mar 2010

UBC researcher finds improved uptake of highly active antiretroviral therapy

A comprehensive population-based study, conducted by the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS (BC-CfE) and presented at the 17th Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections in San Francisco, shows that expanded highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) coverage was associated with a 50% decrease in new yearly HIV infections among injection drug users.

19 Feb 2010

New discovery lays foundation for development of new anti-HIV drugs

A team of scientists at The Scripps Research Institute has identified two compounds that act on novel binding sites for an enzyme used by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), the virus that causes AIDS.

4 Feb 2010

MU researcher develops EFdA compound that is more potent than current HIV therapies

With the help of effective drug therapies, HIV patients are living longer, healthier lives. Now, researchers want to improve these drug therapies and develop alternative preventative strategies, such as vaginal gels and creams that contain the same or related compounds used in treatments for people infected with HIV.

27 Jan 2010

GSK to offer scientists access to compounds, lab space to fight malaria

Drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline (GSK)'s Chief Executive Officer Andrew Witty on Tuesday unveiled the company's plans to allow "free access to its library of 13,500 potential malaria treatments and devote the profits from its experimental [RTS,S] vaccine to battling tropical illnesses that beset poor countries," Bloomberg reports (Randall, 1/20).

21 Jan 2010

Study raises concerns about drug-resistant HIV

The emergence of drug-resistant strains of HIV could one day threaten efforts to control the global HIV pandemic, according to a study published online Thursday in the journal Science, HealthDay News/U.S. News & World Report reports. The researchers based their findings on "a mathematical model that tracks the transmission of multiple strains of HIV" in San Francisco, the news service writes (1/14).

18 Jan 2010

Researchers discover rules that dictate the three-dimensional shapes of RNA molecules

University of Michigan researchers have discovered the rules that dictate the three-dimensional shapes of RNA molecules, rules that are based not on complex chemical interactions but simply on geometry.

8 Jan 2010