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Greater Than AIDS Project Reveals New Awareness Campaign, “Deciding Moments” – Greater Than AIDS, a media project to raise awareness of HIV/AIDS prevention efforts and reduce stigma, has revealed its new campaign “Deciding Moments” today. The project features profiles of individual efforts to prevent HIV, reduce stigma, or otherwise fight the disease. The campaign is targeted primarily at minority communities that are most affected by the virus, particularly African-Americans. Individuals are encouraged to submit their own stories to the campaign’s website. For more information, please see the Greater Than AIDS website or the Kaiser Family Foundation website.

Pharmaceutical Companies And Heinz Philanthropies Unite To Provide Low-Cost HIV Medications – Merck, Abbott Laboratories, Tibotec Therapeutics, Heinz Family Philanthropies, and Welvista, an organization that arranges healthcare for people who are uninsured, have come together to provide anti-HIV medications to patients who need financial assistance. The new program is open to patients who are on waiting lists for AIDS Drug Assistance Programs (ADAPs) and who take anti-HIV medications from Merck, Abbott, or Tibotec. Patients who wish to participate can call their ADAP representative, who will then contact Welvista to arrange shipment of HIV medications at no cost. For more information, please see the Boston Herald website or the Welvista website.

Study Finds That One Quarter Of HIV Patients Have Brain Disease – According to a study conducted in Alberta, Canada, nearly one in four HIV patients has brain disease. A study of 1,651 HIV-positive adults found that 404 (24.5 percent) suffered from neurological disorders, which include seizures, dementia, nerve pain, memory loss, and migraines. The study also found that HIV patients with neurological disease face twice the risk of death than HIV patients without. For more information please see the Neurology website (abstract) or the news article at CBC News.

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New Clinical Trial Recruits HIV-Discordant Couples For An Artificial Insemination Study – A new clinical trial at the Boston Medical Center is currently recruiting participants. The study will test the efficacy and safety of intrauterine insemination, a type of artificial insemination, in HIV-discordant couples (couples in which only one person is HIV positive). To be eligible, men must be HIV positive and on stable HAART with an undetectable viral load (amount of virus in the blood) and women must be HIV negative. Women will be tested for HIV status during and after pregnancy, and their babies will be tested at the age of 3 months. Researchers intend to enroll 50 participants in the pilot study. For more information, please visit the United States Clinical Trials registry.

Website Launched For 2010 National Latino AIDS Awareness Day – A new website has been launched for the 2010 National Latino AIDS Awareness Day (NLAAD). The website contains information on community events, HIV testing, and care for Latino/Hispanic-Americans. Resources are available in both Spanish and English. NLAAD will occur this year on October 15. For more information, please see the NLAAD website.

Black AIDS Institute And Merck Create New Black HIV/AIDS Advocacy Network – The Black AIDS Institute and the pharmaceutical company Merck have announced the establishment of the Black Treatment Advocates Network (BTAN). The goals of BTAN include improving HIV care and treatment for the African-American community, strengthening leadership and advocacy, and educating African-American communities about HIV and AIDS. The Network will sponsor regional training for advocates and will have an educational website. BTAN’s first action will be to set up pilot advocacy communities in Jackson, MS; Philadelphia; and Houston. For more information, please see the Black AIDS Institute and Merck websites.

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Merck Halts Development Of New HIV Drug Vicriviroc – Merck announced July 14 that it would stop development of its new drug, vicriviroc, due to disappointing results from a Phase 2 trial in individuals who had not received antiretroviral treatment before. The drug had previously shown poor results in a Phase 3 trial in treatment-experienced individuals. Vicriviroc was designed to prevent HIV from binding to the CCR5 protein, which is located on the surface of CD4 (white blood) cells and is used by HIV to infect the cells. Vicriviroc would have been the second drug of this type; Pfizer’s drug Selzentry (maraviroc) is the first. For more information, please see the Aidsmap and Project Inform websites.

New Jersey Tightens Eligibility Requirements For AIDS Drug Distribution Program – As part of its budget cutbacks, New Jersey has tightened eligibility requirements for its AIDS Drug Distribution Program (ADDP). ADDP provides antiretroviral medications for low-income, uninsured individuals with HIV. Previously, New Jersey’s ADDP covered individuals with incomes up to 500 percent of the federal poverty level, or $54,150 per year. As of August 1, the program will only cover individuals with incomes up to 300 percent of the federal poverty level, or $32,490 per year. For more information, please see the NorthJersey.com website or the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services website.

North Carolina Announces Limited Reopening Of Its AIDS Drug Assistance Program – The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services announced July 11 that $14 million will go toward reopening the state’s AIDS Drug Assistance Program, which had closed to new participants in January. With the new funds, the program will add 627 patients who have been on the waiting list. Current eligibility requirements restrict the program to individuals living at or below 125 percent of the federal poverty level, or $13,538 per year. Individuals with incomes between 125 and 300 percent of the federal poverty level will continue to be waitlisted. For more information, please see the WRAL.com website or the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services website.

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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…