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ViiV Healthcare Expands HIV/AIDS Patient Assistance Program – Starting January 1, 2011, ViiV Healthcare, a collaboration between GlaxoSmithKline and Pfizer, will be expanding its Patient Assistance Program by raising the maximum household income cutoff for enrollment to five times the federal poverty level ($54,150). Additionally, ViiV will be participating in the Welvista program, which provides antiretrovirals to people on AIDS Drug Assistance Program waiting lists. ViiV has also said it will extend its Patient Savings Card program, which provides $100 monthly rebates on its medications, for another two years. It also plans to make the card available in Puerto Rico. The following anti-HIV medications are available through ViiV Healthcare: Combivir (zidovudine/lamivudine), Epivir (lamivudine), Epzicom (abacavir/lamivudine), Lexiva (fosamprenavir), Rescriptor (delavirdine), Selzentry (maraviroc), Trizivir (zidovudine/lamivudine/abacavir), Viracept (nelfinavir), Ziagen (abacavir), and Retrovir (zidovudine). For more information, please see the ViiV Healthcare website.

CDC Releases Updated Statistics On HIV/AIDS Risk By Race And Gender – The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released new statistics last week that indicate the lifetime risk of contracting HIV is approximately 0.4 percent for Asian-Americans, 0.6 percent for Caucasians, 2 percent for Latinos, and 4.6 percent for African-Americans. On average, men are nearly three times more likely to contract HIV as women. The statistics were calculated from data on rates of HIV diagnosis from 37 states and Puerto Rico. For more information, please see the report on the CDC website.

AIDS.gov Launches “Facing AIDS” For World AIDS Day – To commemorate World AIDS Day on December 1, AIDS.gov is raising awareness through its “Facing AIDS” campaign. Interested individuals are encouraged to download a “Facing AIDS” flier from the website and share why they are facing AIDS. After taking a photo of themselves holding their signs, participants can upload their images to the Facing AIDS Flickr group. To spread the word, all participants are encouraged to share their photos online with family and friends. For more information and additional instructions on how to participate, please see the AIDS.gov website.

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Several innovative but preliminary treatment approaches were presented Monday at the 2010 International AIDS Conference currently underway in Vienna, Austria. Presentations included the results of animal and laboratory studies on novel drugs and new generations of traditional therapies.

Two of the studies focused on methods to completely eliminate HIV from the body. More specifically, they targeted latent HIV – HIV that lies dormant in infected cells and can start multiplying again if antiretroviral therapy is stopped.

Latent HIV is difficult to get rid of because after infection, the virus actually…

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Researchers presented results of five studies involving new HIV treatment regimens yesterday as part of the 2010 International AIDS Conference in Vienna, Austria. Three of the studies involved simplified treatments meant to reduce side effects, and the other two studies presented clinical trial results for potential new antiretrovirals.

The studies, which yielded mostly positive results, illustrate the growing variety of treatment and medication options for people with HIV.

The three studies involving new treatment regimens all use Isentress (raltegravir), an integrase inhibitor approved by the United States Food and Drug…

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A report card released today by the AIDS Treatment Activists Coalition (ATAC) gave the nine largest pharmaceutical companies a combined grade of C- in pricing of their antiretroviral therapies.

The ATAC report card assessed Abbott Laboratories, Boehringer Ingelheim, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Gilead Sciences, GlaxoSmithKline, Hoffman La Roche, Merck & Co., Pfizer, and Tibotec in five areas: drug development and plans, access to treatment, U.S. pricing, community relations, and marketing practices.

The highest overall grades, both B’s, went to Merck and Tibotec. Merck produces Isentress (raltegravir) and Crixivan (indinavir sulfate); Tibotec makes…