Date: Wed, 20 Dec 1995 10:23:10 +0500 From: gharaghs{CONTRACTOR/ASPEN/gharaghs}%NAC-GATEWAY.ASPEN@ace.aspensys.com Subject: CDC AIDS Daily Summary 12/20/95 AIDS Daily Summary December 20, 1995 The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) National AIDS Clearinghouse makes available the following information as a public service only. Providing this information does not constitute endorsement by the CDC, the CDC Clearinghouse, or any other organization. Reproduction of this text is encouraged; however, copies may not be sold, and the CDC Clearinghouse should be cited as the source of this information. Copyright 1995, Information, Inc., Bethesda, MD ************************************************************ "Agouron's AIDS Drug Races Against Time and Titans" "The Healing Power of Prayer Is Tested by Science" "New Drugs Hurt BioChem Shares" "Krever Given More Time to File Blood-Probe Report" "About Face: City to Pay for AIDS Housing" "AIDS Ministry Names Another New Director" "Sequus Pharmaceuticals Inc. Filed Form 8-K" "A Preliminary Study of Ritonavir, an Inhibitor of HIV-1 Protease, to Treat HIV-1 Infection" "Chronic Diarrhoea in HIV+ Patients: Role of Enterocytozoon Bieneusi" "5 Tips for Running Program That Exchanges Needles" ************************************************************ "Agouron's AIDS Drug Races Against Time and Titans" Wall Street Journal (12/20/95) P. B4; Rundle, Rhonda L. Agouron Pharmaceuticals is fourth in the rush to commercialize a new class of AIDS drugs called protease inhibitors. Leader Hoffmann-La Roche recently became the first to receive approval for a protease inhibitor. To win a piece of the HIV market, the small company must demonstrate that its Viracept compound is superior--a task which is difficult because there are fewer untreated patients. Another consideration is that the effectiveness of this compound and other protease inhibitors may be reduced in patients who have already used other drugs in the same family. Martin Markowitz, one of the physicians investigating Viracept at the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center, comments, "Bottom line is that Agouron has to move quickly before [second- and third-place drug companies] Merck and Abbott get approved." Agouron expects to launch large-scale trials in early February, with as many as 1,500 patients enrolled before the other companies drugs are approved. If all goes well, the company says it hopes to be selling Viracept by mid-1997. "The Healing Power of Prayer Is Tested by Science" Wall Street Journal (12/20/95) P. B1; Pereira, Joseph Researchers across the country are trying to determine what effect prayer has on healing. Critics, however, are outraged that public funds are being spent on such studies. Interest in prayer was boosted in the mid-1980s, when a study of nearly 400 coronary patients found that the prayed-for group was much less likely to require drugs or develop fluid in the lungs. One current AIDS experiment involves 20 praying people who were asked to "send intentions" from such cities as New York and Washington, D.C. Ten members of that group received intentions, while the remaining 10 did not. The researchers are looking for unusual changes in T-cell levels to determine prayer's effect on the advanced AIDS patients. The study is being sponsored by the Noetic Sciences Institute in Sausalito, Calif. "New Drugs Hurt BioChem Shares" Toronto Globe and Mail (12/19/95) P. B13; Northfield, Stephen Within the past few weeks, both Canadian and U.S. health authorities have granted approval to 3TC, an AIDS drug discovered by BioChem Pharma Inc. and co-developed with Glaxo Wellcome, but BioChem stock has dropped. The company says it cannot explain the sudden dip in share price, but analysts blame several factors, including competing AIDS therapies and the fact that the share price had already jumped on the promise of approval. Reijer Lenstra of Smith Barney Inc. dropped his rating of the company to "neutral" after the stock hit a target price of $40. Shekhar Basu of Punk Zeigel & Knoell, however, rates BioChem a "buy" and advises investors to take advantage of the currently low price to load up on the stock. "Krever Given More Time to File Blood-Probe Report" Toronto Globe and Mail (12/19/95) P. A5 Canadian Justice Horace Krever has been allotted additional time to sift through the enormous amount of evidence given in the country's tainted-blood scandal before filing his final report. The federal Privy Council Office has given Krever until Sept. 30, 1996 to complete the report, said government spokesman Gerald Simoneau. The report was due by the end of 1995, however hearings will not be completed until late this week. Krever is the head of an inquiry which is attempting to determine how more than 1,000 Canadians became HIV-infected from the blood supply between 1978 and 1985. "About Face: City to Pay for AIDS Housing" Houston Chronicle (12/19/95) P. 22A; Robinson, James The city of Houston is expected to reverse itself and provide about $700,000 for AIDS housing. The move would basically undo a decision made by the City Council last November, in which it deferred to local opposition and essentially ended the project being undertaken by Brentwood Baptist Church. By providing the money, the council would also settle a lawsuit filed by the church, which has filed complaints under the federal Fair Housing Act. City Attorney Gene Locke said that some of the neighborhood's fears--which included increased traffic, drug use, and the possible HIV infection of children playing nearby--have been addressed by changing the housing's location. Still, Rick Holden, president of the Hiram Clarke civic club, maintains that neighbors still have not received assurances regarding the three-home, 18-person housing, including whether or not drug users would be barred from the project. "AIDS Ministry Names Another New Director" Richmond-Times Dispatch (12/19/95) P. B5 The Richmond AIDS Ministry (RAM) has tapped Sheila Crowley, former head of The Daily Planet, to be its third executive director in two years. According to Claire Forsyth, president of RAM's board of directors, Crowley possesses "the right management experience and skills necessary to help guide [us] through our next phase." RAM recently announced that financial problems have caused it to lay off more than half its employees since last spring. "Sequus Pharmaceuticals Inc. Filed Form 8-K" CDA Investnet (12/19/95) The FDA has granted marketing approval for Sequus Pharmaceuticals Inc.'s Doxil for the treatment of Kaposi's sarcoma in AIDS patients for whom conventional combination chemotherapy is ineffective or who are intolerant to such therapy. Furthermore, the company has established a Patient Assistance Program to help selected AIDS patients who might benefit from treatment with Doxil but are unable to obtain the drug because of a lack of health insurance. Sequus has also submitted an application to the Committee on Proprietary and Medicinal Products for market clearance in Europe and expects to be reviewed in February 1996. "A Preliminary Study of Ritonavir, an Inhibitor of HIV-1 Protease, to Treat HIV-1 Infection" New England Journal of Medicine (12/07/95) Vol. 333, No. 23, P. 1534; Markowitz, Martin; Saag, Michael; Powderly, William G.; et al. Markowitz et al. conducted a study of the safety and efficacy of ritonavir, a potent inhibitor of HIV-1 protease in vitro, in 62 HIV-1-infected patients. The 12-week trial consisted of a four-week randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blinded stage which was followed by an eight-week dose-blinded phase. Among the 52 patients who completed the study, the most frequent side effects were diarrhea and nausea; reversible elevations in serum triglyceride and (gamma)-glutamyltransferase levels were the most common laboratory irregularities. Overall, ritonavir produced rapid antiviral effects, with a mean maximal reduction in HIV-1 RNA copies per milliliter of plasma between 0.86 and 1.18 log in the four treatment groups. This effect was partially maintained after treatment, with mean plasma-viremia reduction of 0.5 log, though a more sensitive HIV-1 RNA test found a mean 1.7-log reduction. Based on the significant reductions in plasma viremia as well as substantial increases in CD4 levels, the researchers concluded that ritonavir is both well-tolerated and a potent antiviral, and that further clinical trials are therefore justified. "Chronic Diarrhoea in HIV+ Patients: Role of Enterocytozoon Bieneusi" Journal of the American Medical Association (12/06/95) Vol. 274, No. 21, P. 1657 Bernard et al. studied HIV-infected individuals to determine the various characteristics of chronic diarrhea related to the disease. The researchers isolated 34 pathogenic agents in some 50 percent of the patients. The most frequently identified pathogen was Enterocytozoon bieneusi, which was found in nearly one-quarter of the patients, followed closely by Cryptosporidium sp. The patients with microsporidiosis were all observed to be in stage C according to the 1993 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention classification, and experienced a longer duration of diarrhea, greater weight loss, and a lower Karnofsky index. Patients without microsporidiosis were more likely to receive prophylaxis with dapsone or pyrimethamine in the three months prior to inclusion in the study. The researchers concluded that microsporidiosis should be considered as a potential cause of chronic diarrhea in HIV-infected individuals with CD4 levels of less than 100. "5 Tips for Running Program That Exchanges Needles" AIDS Alert (12/95) Vol. 10, No. 12, P. 149 Although it seems unlikely that the federal government will act on recommendations to fund needle exchange programs (NEPs), individuals can still work for state and local efforts, according to Prof. Peter Lurie of the Center for AIDS Prevention Studies at the University of California in San Francisco. Lurie, an author of a critical 1993 report on NEPs, believes there is a compelling reason for this. "The feds are playing politics, and people are dying," he notes. For people who want to start an NEP in their community, Lurie offers several suggestions on how to get started. He suggests that advocates should first try to obtain input and support from all potentially affected areas, including businesses, residents, and law enforcement agencies. "People need to be involved from the earliest phase," he explains. "That way, they can feel a sense of ownership." Lurie recommends that advocates should also attempt to become exempt from anti-NEP laws. Next, he advises consulting drug users--the target audience--to maximize participation. Furthermore, the emphasis of the NEP should be distributing syringes--such extras as drug treatment referrals should be considered optional, Lurie claims. Finally, one must determine whether community activists or the local health department is better equipped to deal with the program. Either way, Lurie notes, it is critical that whoever is in charge forge a trusting relationship with the drug-using community.