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2011 National HIV Prevention Conference Starts August 14 – The 2011 National HIV Prevention Conference will be held this year August 14 to 17 in Atlanta. The theme of the conference is “The Urgency of Now: Reduce incidence. Improve access. Promote equity.” Topics will include HIV prevention efforts, strategies for improving access to health care for people with HIV, and reducing health disparities related to HIV and AIDS. Conference organizers expect around 3,000 people to attend. Interested individuals can follow the conference’s Twitter feed or Facebook page to see the latest news and findings. For more information, please see the 2011 National HIV Prevention Conference website.

AIDS Healthcare Foundation Targets Merck, Johnson & Johnson In Drug Price Campaign – Activists at the AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), a California-based treatment and advocacy group, conducted protests last week against U.S. pharmaceutical companies Merck and Johnson & Johnson over the companies’ HIV drug prices. AHF is pressuring both companies to cut the prices they charge state AIDS Drug Assistance Programs, which provide antiretrovirals free to low-income people with HIV. AHF’s protests focused on Isentress (raltegravir), marketed by Merck, and Prezista (darunavir), marketed by Johnson & Johnson. For more information, please see the AHF press releases for the Merck and Johnson & Johnson protests.

Johns Hopkins Recruits Participants For Phase 1/2 Trial To Treat HIV-Associated Neurocognitive Disorders – Researchers at Johns Hopkins University are currently recruiting approximately 60 HIV-positive adults for a Phase 1/2 clinical trial to treat HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders. The researchers will test the safety and efficacy of two approved drugs, the antidepressant paroxetine (Paxil) and the anti-fungal medication fluconazole (Diflucan), in treating problems related to memory, concentration, thinking, and judgment. The drugs will be tested both separately and in combination. Participants must be 18 to 65 years old and on antiretroviral therapy. The trial is expected to last 24 weeks. For more information, please see the U.S. Clinical Trials Registry.

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New Jersey Assembly Votes To Restore ADAP Funding – New Jersey’s state Assembly has passed a bill to reverse earlier state restrictions on income requirements for its AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP). The bill would restore eligibility to people with HIV whose incomes are five times the federal poverty level, or $55,150. The previous budget, signed last June, restricted the program to people whose incomes were three times the poverty level, or $32,490. The bill must still be signed by Governor Chris Christie before it can become law. For more information, please see the related article at NorthJersey.com.

Massachusetts Considers Legalizing Medical Marijuana – Lawmakers in Massachusetts have sponsored a bill that would legalize medical marijuana in the state. The proposed bill would allow patients suffering from certain medical conditions, including HIV and AIDS, to legally carry four ounces of marijuana or keep up to 24 plants in a secure, locked facility. The bill would also require users to register with the state’s Department of Public Health and would provide for the creation of 19 state-regulated dispensaries. For more information, please see the article in the Boston Herald.

AIDS Healthcare Foundation Asks FDA Not To Approve Truvada For HIV Prevention – The AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), a California-based AIDS activist and treatment group, has sent a letter to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) asking it not to approve the drug Truvada (tenofovir/emtricitabine) for prevention of HIV transmission. The drug has been shown to reduce infection risk when taken daily by HIV-negative men who have sex with men. AHF argues that the drug is not effective enough and that approval would encourage more risky sexual behavior and promote the spread of drug-resistant HIV. For more information, please see the article in the PharmaLetter.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Signs Agreement To Bring Reyataz To Sub-Saharan Africa And India – Bristol-Myers Squibb announced this week that it has signed an agreement with Matrix Laboratories Limited to allow Matrix to produce the protease inhibitor Reyataz (atazanavir), as well as the older drugs stavudine (Zerit) and didanosine (Videx), in sub-Saharan Africa and India. The agreement will include provisions for pediatric dosages of didanosine and Reyataz. The agreement is part of Bristol-Myers Squibb’s “Global Access Program,” which is intended to expand access to HIV drugs in developing countries. For more information, please see the Bristol-Myers Squibb press release.

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ViiV Healthcare Opens Its Patient Assistance Program For People With HIV – On January 1, ViiV Healthcare, a joint venture by pharmaceutical companies Pfizer and GlaxoSmithKline, opened its patient assistance program to help low-income people with HIV obtain their medications. The program will cover the medications Combivir (zidovudine/lamivudine), Epivir (lamivudine), Epzicom (abacavir/lamivudine), Lexiva (fosamprenavir), Rescriptor (delavirdine), Retrovir (zidovudine), Selzentry (maraviroc), Trizivir (zidovudine/lamivudine/abacavir), Viracept (nelfinavir), and Ziagen (abacavir). Eligible participants must have an annual household income of no more than 500 percent of the federal poverty level ($72,850 for a family of two) and no prescription drug coverage for brand-name drugs. Patients on Medicaid are eligible if they meet income requirements and have spent $600 or more out of pocket for their HIV medications. For more information or to apply for the program, please see the ViiV Healthcare website.

AIDS Healthcare Foundation Offers Free HIV Drugs To People On Florida ADAP Waiting Lists – The AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), a California-based treatment and advocacy group for people with HIV and AIDS, announced today that it will provide up to $1 million in free HIV drugs to people who have been placed on an AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP) waiting list in Florida or have been removed from the program due to new, stricter eligibility requirements. ADAPs are programs that provide anti-HIV medications to low-income people with HIV. The offer from AHF is expected to benefit about 2,850 people and is intended to allow time for them to transition to private patient assistance programs without interrupting treatment. The HIV drugs will be distributed by AHF’s pharmacies throughout the state. For more information, please see the AHF press release.

Maine Now Requires Registration Cards For Medical Marijuana Use – A new state law that went into effect January 1 now requires registration for people in Maine who wish to use medical marijuana. Previously, the state only required a doctor’s permission for marijuana use. Applications for a registration card can be found on the Maine Department of Health and Human Services website; cards cost $100 ($75 for patients in the state’s Medicaid program, MaineCare). The new law also restricts the amount of marijuana a person can carry to 2.5 ounces and limits the number of marijuana plants a patient or their caregiver is allowed to grow. In addition, it provides for new medical marijuana dispensaries, which are expected to open in March or April. Medical marijuana has been legal in Maine since 1999 for treatment of symptoms related to specific conditions, including HIV and AIDS. For more information, please see the article at the Portland Press Herald.

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FDA Approves New 200 Milligram Intelence Tablet – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) last week approved a new 200 mg Intelence (etravirine) tablet. The new dosage reduces the number of pills patients need to take daily; previously Intelence, a non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor made by Tibotec Therapeutics, was only available in 100 mg tablets. Patients should take either two 100 mg tablets or one 200 mg tablet of Intelence twice daily after meals. For more information, please see the prescribing information (pdf) at the FDA website.

Researchers Report Promising Phase 1/2 Results For New HIV Drug VIR-576 – Results of a small Phase 1/2 clinical trial for VIR-576, a new type of antiretroviral drug under development by the small German company VIRO Pharmaceuticals, showed that it successfully reduced viral loads (amount of HIV in the blood) in treatment-naïve patients. No serious side effects were reported. VIR-576 is a new entry inhibitor, a relatively new class of antiretrovirals that includes Selzentry (maraviroc) and Fuzeon (enfuvirtide). VIR-576 works by binding to a protein on the surface of HIV, preventing it from attaching to and infecting cells. It works somewhat differently than either Selzentry or Fuzeon, and its developers hope that HIV will be less able to form drug resistance to VIR-576 than to most other antiretrovirals. While VIR-576 itself has some drawbacks – large doses are necessary and they must be administered intravenously – the researchers concluded that drugs of this type are promising and should be developed further. For more information, please see the article in Science Translational Medicine (abstract).

AIDS Healthcare Foundation Sues Tibotec Therapeutics For Overcharging – The AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), a California-based HIV/AIDS treatment and advocacy group, has filed a lawsuit against Tibotec Therapeutics for overcharging for antiretroviral drugs purchased under a government pricing program. The program requires drug manufacturers to provide drugs to specific groups at reduced costs. Groups eligible for reduced prices are largely nonprofit and governmental medical providers, including AHF. AHF claims that pharmaceutical companies in the pricing program were required to lower prices beginning January 2010, but that Tibotec only implemented the changes in July 2010. AHF has also filed suit against Bristol-Myers Squibb on a similar basis. For more information, please see the AHF press release.

Clinical Trial To Investigate The Effects Of Egrifta On HIV-Associated Fat Accumulation Is Currently Recruiting Participants – A Massachusetts study is investigating the effects of Egrifta (tesamorelin) on lipodystrophy (abnormal fat accumulation) in the muscle and liver, insulin sensitivity, sugar metabolism, cardiovascular health, and inflammation in people with HIV. These conditions are often associated with HIV and HIV treatment. The researchers believe Egrifta will reduce fat accumulation in the liver and muscle, decrease inflammation and possibly improve sugar metabolism. The study is currently recruiting participants in the Boston area who are aged 18 to 60 years and have lipodystrophy. For more information, please see the United States Clinical Trials Registry.

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Tibotec Pharmaceuticals And Gilead Sciences Submit European Marketing Applications For New HIV Drugs – Tibotec Pharmaceuticals has submitted a European Marketing Authorization Application (MAA) for the new HIV drug rilpivirine (TMC278), a new non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor. In addition, Gilead Sciences has submitted an MAA for a once-daily tablet combining rilpivirine with Gilead’s Truvada (emtricitabine/tenofovir). If the MAAs are approved, Tibotec and Gilead would be allowed to market the drugs in all 27 European Union member states. A decision on the MAAs will likely be made in approximately 9 to 12 months. Tibotec filed for approval of rilpivirine in July with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. For more information, please see the Tibotec and Gilead press releases.

PUBPAT Challenges Abbott Laboratories’ Patents For HIV Drug Norvir – The Public Patent Foundation (PUBPAT), a New York City public interest group, has requested that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office review eight of Abbott Laboratories’ patents for the HIV drug Norvir (ritonavir). PUBPAT argues that the patents are invalid and should not have been granted. Norvir is widely used as a protease inhibitor booster and is a key component in many HIV/AIDS treatment regimens. If the U.S. Patent Office decides the patents are invalid, other drug companies would be able to produce generic versions of Norvir. For more information, please see the PUBPAT website.

Legal Groups Accuse California Of Violating HIV Privacy Laws – The American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California, Lambda Legal, and the AIDS Legal Services Alliance have accused the California Department of Health Services (CDHS) of violating patient confidentiality laws by releasing the names of HIV-positive welfare recipients to the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, a Los Angeles-based advocacy and treatment organization. CDHS and the AIDS Healthcare Foundation deny that privacy laws were breached and argue they were trying to help patients by notifying them of additional services for which they were eligible. California state law makes it illegal to share a person’s HIV status without permission except as provided by law for public health purposes. For more information, please see MercuryNews.com.