Congresswoman Lee Introduces Bill To Repeal Certain HIV Criminalization Laws – Representative Barbara Lee from California has introduced legislation that requires state officials nationwide to reevaluate HIV criminalization laws. The proposed legislation also offers incentives for states to repeal or modify laws that criminalize behavior by people with HIV that is legal for HIV-negative individuals or that has been shown scientifically to convey no measurable risk of HIV transmission. Representatives Hansen Clark and John Conyers from Michigan are co-sponsors of the bill. For more information, please see Rep. Lee’s press release or the article in the Michigan Messenger.

Large HIV Prevention Trial For Women Modified Due To Viread Inefficacy – A large trial that is testing the efficacy of Truvada (emtricitabine/tenofovir) pills, Viread (tenofovir) pills, and a Truvada vaginal gel in preventing HIV transmission to women has been modified because of interim results showing that Viread pills are ineffective. Based on the results, women in the Vaginal and Oral Interventions to Control the Epidemic (VOICE) study who were taking Viread will stop taking the drug and will no longer be included in the study. Women taking Truvada pills or the Truvada vaginal gel will continue as planned. For more information, please see the National Institutes of Health press release or the article on the Science Magazine website.

Phase 1 Clinical Trial Shows New HIV Vaccine May Be Highly Effective – Results from a Phase 1 clinical trial of a new preventative HIV vaccine in Spain show that 90 percent of healthy HIV-negative adults who received the vaccine showed an immune response; 85 percent still had an immune response one year after vaccination. This is a much higher percentage than researchers have observed in previous vaccine clinical trials. However, the scientists still have to show that the vaccine actually reduces the risk of contracting HIV. The researchers also plan to test the vaccine as a therapeutic vaccine in people who already have HIV to see if it reduces the severity of infection. For more information, please see the press release from Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas or the articles on the ABC news and Fox news websites.

Clinical Trial To Test Victrelis In People With HIV And Hepatitis C Is Currently Recruiting Participants – A Phase 4 clinical trial that will test the efficacy of Victrelis (boceprevir) in HIV-positive adults with hepatitis C virus compared to HIV-negative adults with hepatitis C is currently recruiting participants. Study participants will receive Victrelis in combination with peginterferon-2b (PegIntron) and ribavirin (Rebetol). Eligible participants must not have taken the antiretrovirals Ziagen (abacavir), zidovudine (Retrovir), didanosine (Videx), stavudine (Zerit), Sustiva (efavirenz), or Intelence (etravirine) within the past six months. Additional medication and health restrictions also apply. For more information, please see the U.S. Clinical Trials Registry.