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Texas AIDS Drug Assistance Program Faces Budget Shortfall – The Texas AIDS Drug Assistance Program has failed to secure additional funding and will face budget shortages starting in September 2012. State officials have said that they will likely implement cost-cutting measures, such as excluding more expensive HIV drugs and asking pharmaceutical companies for discounts, to mitigate the shortages. The Texas legislature had previously decided not to give the program an additional $19 million to prevent cutbacks (see related AIDS Beacon news), instead deciding that the program could receive additional funds from the state’s Medicaid budget if needed. However, Medicaid also faces a $4.8 billion shortfall, making such assistance unlikely. For more information, please see the Associated Press article.

GeoVax Adds Los Angeles Site To Phase 1 Trial Of Therapeutic HIV Vaccine – Biotechnology company GeoVax Labs has announced that it is adding a third location, in Los Angeles, to its Phase 1 trial of a therapeutic vaccine to treat HIV. The first two sites are in Atlanta and Birmingham, AL. The trial is testing the safety and efficacy of the vaccine in controlling HIV replication in people already infected with the virus; participants will stop taking antiretrovirals for 12 weeks as part of the trial. GeoVax expects to enroll 10 participants. For more information, please see the GeoVax press release or the U.S. Clinical Trials Registry.

Tibotec Therapeutics Changes Name To Janssen Therapeutics – Tibotec Therapeutics, the maker of the HIV drugs Prezista (darunavir), Intelence (etravirine), and Edurant (rilpivirine), has changed its name to Janssen Therapeutics. The name change is an attempt to create a common link between all of the Janssen companies, which are subsidiaries of Johnson & Johnson and include Janssen Pharmaceuticals and Janssen Biotech. The company’s new website includes links to information on its antiretrovirals and patient assistance programs to help low-income patients pay for the drugs. For more information, please see the Johnson & Johnson press release or the Janssen Therapeutics website.

Reminder: Free HIV Testing Today – As part of National HIV Testing day, many locations nationwide will offer free HIV testing today (see related AIDS Beacon news). To find a testing location, please see the Centers for Disease Control’s National HIV Testing Day website.

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Washington, D.C. Still Has The Highest Rate Of HIV And AIDS In The U.S. – A report released last week by the District of Columbia Department of Health states that D.C. still has the highest rate of HIV in the country, with more than 3 percent of the population over the age of 12 testing positive. The report does note that the number of new cases reported has dropped almost 50 percent in the last two years, but health officials stated that part of the drop may be due to a newer, more accurate method for counting new cases. The disease continues to affect primarily African Americans and adults aged 30 to 59. For more information, please see the District of Columbia Annual Report 2010 or the Washington Post article.

Theratechnologies Applies For Approval Of Egrifta In Canada – Theratechnologies has applied for approval of Egrifta (tesamorelin) from the Therapeutic Products Directorate of Health Canada. If approved, Egrifta will be the first drug in Canada to treat lipodystrophy, a condition of abnormal fat distribution that is a side effect of certain anti-HIV medications. Based on average approval times for Health Canada, a decision would be expected late next year. Theratechnologies applied for approval of Egrifta in Europe earlier this month via its partner Ferrer Internacional S.A., and the drug was approved in the U.S. in November of last year. For more information, please see the Theratechnologies press release.

June 27 Marks National HIV Testing Day – This year, June 27 will mark the 17th annual National HIV Testing Day. The day is organized by the National Association of People With AIDS (NAPWA), and its purpose is to publicize and promote regular HIV testing, particularly in at-risk populations such as African Americans and men who have sex with men. Communities and health centers will be offering HIV testing nationwide, in many cases free of charge. For more information or to find a local testing center, please see NAPWA’s National HIV Testing Day website.

Salix Pharmaceuticals Recruiting HIV-Positive Participants For Phase 3 Trial Of Diarrhea Drug – Salix Pharmaceuticals, a small pharmaceutical company based in North Carolina, is currently recruiting HIV-positive participants for a Phase 3 clinical trial of its investigational anti-diarrhea drug crofelemer. Participants must be on antiretroviral therapy and have had HIV-associated diarrhea for at least four weeks. Crofelemer successfully completed a Phase 3 clinical trial in people with HIV in November of last year in which three dosages (125 mg, 250 mg, and 500 mg daily) were tested; this new trial will test the safety and tolerability of a 125 mg dose twice daily. Salix is currently recruiting participants at locations in Arizona, Arkansas, California, Florida, and Georgia and expects to add additional locations at a later date. For more information, please see the U.S. Clinical Trials Registry.

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Today Is National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day – Today is National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, a day created to memorialize African Americans lost to the pandemic as well as to raise awareness of the impact of HIV and AIDS on the black community. According to a recent report by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, African Americans made up half of new HIV diagnoses from 2005 to 2008, despite making up only 14 percent of the population. The theme of this year’s HIV/AIDS Awareness Day is “It Takes a Village to Fight HIV/AIDS.” The day will include awareness and testing efforts nationwide. In addition, the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) is urging African Americans to participate in clinical trials aimed at improving HIV prevention efforts in black communities. For more information or to find local events, please see the National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day website. For more information on clinical trials, please see the NIAID website.

Kaletra Added To FDA Side Effects Watch List For Potential Safety Problems In Newborns – Kaletra (lopinavir/ritonavir) oral solution has been added to a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) drug safety watch list due to potentially serious side effects in newborns. Kaletra’s inclusion on the watch list indicates that the FDA is concerned about a potential safety issue but does not have definitive evidence that the drug is actually causing harm. The FDA will continue to monitor reported side effects for Kaletra in newborns. The FDA states that the drug’s inclusion on the watch list does not mean that patients should discontinue Kaletra, but they should contact their physicians if they have concerns. Side effects can be reported to the Adverse Event Reporting System. For more information, please see the FDA website.

Struggling Florida ADAP Receives Assistance From Pharmaceutical Companies – The Florida Department of Health announced last week that it will receive temporary assistance from pharmaceutical companies to keep its struggling AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP) running. ADAPs provide HIV drugs to low-income people with HIV and AIDS. The companies will provide free HIV drugs to 6,500 people in Florida’s ADAP through April, when the program will receive additional federal funding. The assistance will be provided through Welvista, a non-profit organization that helps the uninsured. Florida announced last month that unless it received financial assistance it would stop providing HIV drugs this month to members of its ADAP (see related AIDS Beacon news). For more information, please see the Sun Sentinel.

Theratechnologies Announces Licensing Agreement For Egrifta In Europe And Asia – Theratechnologies announced last week that it has reached a licensing agreement with Spanish pharmaceutical company Ferrer Internacional S.A. to market Egrifta (tesamorelin) in Europe, Russia, South Korea, Taiwan, and some central Asian countries. Egrifta is the first drug to treat lipodystrophy, abnormal fat distribution that is a side effect of certain anti-HIV medications. Under the agreement, Ferrer will be responsible for marketing and regulatory approval; Theratechnologies will manufacture Egrifta and is responsible for any additional research and development. Theratechnologies and Ferrer have not yet specified when Egrifta might be available in these countries. For more information, please see the Theratechnologies press release.

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The AIDS Institute, part of the New York Department of Health, has updated its guidelines for diagnosing HIV in infants to recommend that all HIV-exposed infants born in New York State be tested for HIV within 48 hours of birth. The guidelines also recommend using a more sensitive procedure to test for HIV, called qualitative RNA nucleic acid testing.

The recommendation is based on a study (abstract) by the AIDS Institute showing that this test can detect HIV in infants an average of four weeks earlier than another common…

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A new pilot program at Rikers Island jail in New York, called the “Point of Service” (POS) program, will attempt to increase the number of inmates who know their HIV status so they can initiate treatment if they test positive.

“The goal of the program is to increase the number of people who know their HIV status while in jail so that they can take advantage of treatment, medications, and discharge planning, including connection to care upon release,” said Alison Jordan, Executive Director of Transitional Health Care Coordination in New…