Sangamo BioSciences announced yesterday that it is initiating two Phase 2 clinical trials of its gene therapy treatments for people with HIV. The trials will test two different strategies for increasing the effectiveness of the therapy, with the goal of creating a cure for HIV.

“We are delighted to be able to open these two important clinical studies ahead of schedule,” said Geoff Nichol, executive vice president of research and development at Sangamo, in a press release.

Both trials are…

Results from a recent study of HIV-positive adults with self-reported poor treatment adherence show that risk of treatment failure drops if patients adhere to their regimens longer during the initial treatment period. Results also showed that treatment failure was less likely if patients missed less than one dose per week.

Based on their results, the authors concluded that adherence to antiretroviral regimens is most important in the period before and shortly after achieving undetectable viral loads (amount of HIV in…

Generic Version Of Combivir Is Now Available – The generic version of Combivir (lamivudine/zidovudine), made by generic drug maker Teva Pharmaceuticals, is now available. Teva stated that it began shipping its generic form to pharmacies starting December 27. Generic Combivir was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in May 2011 (see related AIDS Beacon news). For more information, please see the article in Businessweek or the Teva Pharmaceuticals website.

Truvada For Prevention…

HHS Warns Against Three-Month Short-Course Tuberculosis Treatment For People On Antiretroviral Therapy – The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has warned that people with HIV who are on antiretroviral therapy should not take the new shortened, three-month regimen of weekly isoniazid plus Priftin (rifapentine) for treatment of latent tuberculosis. Priftin may reduce the efficacy of antiretrovirals, so HHS recommends that people on antiretroviral therapy instead receive the traditional nine-month treatment course of daily isoniazid. People with HIV who…

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced yesterday that it has approved Isentress for children two to 18 years of age who weigh at least 22 pounds (10 kilograms).

“Many young children and adolescents are living with HIV, and this approval provides an important additional option for their treatment,” said Dr. Edward Cox, director of the Office of Antimicrobial Products in the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, in a press release.

Isentress will be available as a…