The AIDS Beacon™

Panel members debated the pros and cons of starting early Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy (HAART) in a discussion last week at the International AIDS Conference in Vienna, Austria.

Previous guidelines advised patients to begin HAART after the onset of AIDS symptoms or when their CD4 (white blood cell) count dropped below 200 cells per milliliter.

In 2009, however, the World Health Organization released new guidelines recommending that treatment start when CD4 counts drop to 350 cells per milliliter. Proponents argued that this number better protects patients from long-term immune system…

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…

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…

A study published last week in AIDS Patient Care and STDs found that Trizivir (zidovudine/lamivudine/abacavir) may help people with HIV simplify their long-term maintenance antiretroviral therapy (ART) routine, decreasing harmful side effects and making the drug regimen easier to follow.

However, the study authors caution that their results, which include only 48 weeks of trial data, are still preliminary. Longer follow-up periods will be necessary to ensure the regimen will be safe and effective long-term.

Currently, the standard treatment regimen for HIV includes at least three antiretroviral medications from two…

Clinical trials for several types of therapeutic HIV vaccines are currently ongoing or recruiting participants.

Therapeutic HIV vaccines work by enhancing the body’s natural immune response, helping to control HIV in people already infected with the virus.

This is in contrast to preventative vaccines, which are used in HIV-negative individuals to prevent infection.

Researchers hope therapeutic vaccines will decrease dependence on antiretroviral drugs, which must be taken for life and often have serious side effects.

“A vaccine that enhanced the body’s ability to control HIV and delayed or decreased the…

An article published last week in PLoS Pathogens argues that combining antiretroviral therapy with a short course of immunotoxins, which are used in certain types of chemotherapy, could suppress HIV levels to the point that antiretrovirals are no longer needed long-term.

“Ultimately, immunotoxins will be of value in HIV treatment only if they can enable patients to stop HAART for prolonged periods, sufficient to provide a meaningful quality of life benefit,” wrote the authors.

Although still preliminary, the authors believe the idea is promising enough that it should be tested…

Myriad Pharmaceuticals announced last week that it will suspend further development of its anti-HIV drug, MPC-4326, and will instead focus on developing anti-cancer drugs. The company attributed the change to strategic and business reasons.

Patrick Burke, Vice President of Corporate and Business Development at Myriad Pharmaceuticals, stated in an interview with The AIDS Beacon that Myriad is currently looking for a partner to advance MPC-4326 and an additional novel HIV drug. This partner would then acquire rights to advance the drugs further.

Myriad’s Phase 2 clinical trial into the efficacy…

Last week, the AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), a Los Angeles-based advocacy and treatment organization, sent a letter to Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) officials, pressing them to reduce the price of their AIDS drug Reyataz (atazanavir).

In its letter to BMS, AHF urged that AIDS Drug Assistance Programs (ADAPs) nationwide should receive the drug at a price similar to prices of first-line antiretroviral drugs like Viread (tenofovir) and Sustiva (efavirenz).

ADAPs throughout the United States aim to provide AIDS drugs like Reyataz to low-income people in need. This aim, however, is becoming…

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the city of Washington, D.C., recently announced a new partnership focused on research to combat HIV/AIDS in the D.C area. The new D.C. Partnership for HIV/AIDS Progress, a collaboration between the NIH and the D.C. Department of Health, aims to decrease the rate of new HIV infections, while improving the lives of those living with HIV and AIDS in the city.

The National Institute Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and the NIH Office of AIDS Research has set aside $26.4 million for…