Date: Fri, 1 Mar 1996 09:53:53 +0500 From: ghmcleaf{CONTRACTOR/ASPEN/ghmcleaf}%NAC-GATEWAY.ASPEN@ace.aspensys.com Subject: CDC AIDS Daily Summary 03/01/96 AIDS Daily Summary March 1, 1996 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 1996, Information, Inc., Bethesda, MD ************************************************************ "Abbott AIDS Drug Appears on Track for Fast Approval by FDA Officials" "Virus Linked to a Cancer in AIDS Patients Is Identified" "Why Heterosexual Sex May Spread Some HIV More Easily" "'Important Finding' in AIDS Drug Study" "Washington Wire: AIDS Funding" "Nations Differ on HIV" "HIV Protein Level Tied to Babies' AIDS Risk" "Abbott Has No Plans to Step Up AIDS Drug Program" "AIDS Researchers Hit U.S. Refusal on Needle Exchanges" "Are Some People Immune?" ************************************************************ "Abbott AIDS Drug Appears on Track for Fast Approval by FDA Officials" Wall Street Journal (03/01/96) P. B2; McGinley, Laurie U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) officials met with officials of Abbott Laboratories Thursday night to discuss approval of Abbott's protease inhibitor Norvir (ritonavir) for patients in the advanced stages of AIDS. The drug, which has been recommended for approval by an FDA advisory panel, is more powerful than Hoffmann-La Roche's Invirase (saquinavir), the protease inhibitor which was granted approval in December. Norvir may be approved as early as today, and Merck's protease inhibitor Crixivan (indinavir) is expected to soon follow--an advisory panel recommendation for Crixivan may come today as well. Analyst Hemant Shah estimates that sales of the two drugs could reach $100 million to $200 million annually, while other analysts predict that sales could be even higher. Related Story: Washington Post (03/01) P. A12; Baltimore Sun (03/01) P. 3A "Virus Linked to a Cancer in AIDS Patients Is Identified" New York Times (03/01/96) P. A18; Altman, Lawrence K. A research team led by Don Ganem, a virologist at the University of California at San Francisco, reports in the March issue of the journal Nature Medicine that they have succeeded in growing the virus believed to be responsible for Kaposi's sarcoma, the most common cancer affecting gay men with AIDS. An official name for the virus has not been chosen, but it has been referred to as Kaposi's sarcoma associated herpes virus or human herpes virus 8. Ganem's team of scientists is now working on a blood test to help diagnose Kaposi's sarcoma and is also studying the effectiveness of three drugs--acyclovir, gancyclovir, and foscarnet--in combating the Kaposi's virus. The identification of the virus may lead to more effective treatments for Kaposi's sarcoma, a clearer idea of how it is transmitted, and a better understanding of how viruses cause cancers. "Why Heterosexual Sex May Spread Some HIV More Easily" USA Today (03/01/96) P. 7D; Painter, Kim A strain of HIV in Thailand has been found to spread more easily by heterosexual sex than does a strain in the United States. A new study, published in the journal Science, found that one kind of Thai HIV grew more efficiently when it infected mucous membrane cells called Langerhans cells, found in the vagina and mouth, but not in the rectum. Type E viruses, more common in Asia and Africa, grow more rapidly than Type B viruses, common in Europe and the United States. Only a few non-B cases have been found in the United States, a fact Harvard researcher Max Essex attributes to luck. If Type E ever takes hold here, "we could face a much more significant epidemic among heterosexuals," he said. Harold Jaffe, of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, says that widespread prostitution and the prevalence of other sexual diseases has enhanced the Thai epidemic and that a new strain of HIV would not necessarily change the U.S. epidemic. "'Important Finding' in AIDS Drug Study" Houston Chronicle (02/29/96) P. 6A; SoRelle, Ruth A single anti-viral drug called ddI is as effective as the combination of ddI and AZT in delaying serious symptoms or death in children with AIDS, researchers at Baylor College of Medicine reported Wednesday. Upon hearing presentations about this finding as well as two studies in adults, a Food and Drug Administration advisory panel suggested that ddI be recommended as a first-line treatment for AIDS, either alone or in combination. The drug, made by Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. under the brand name VIDEX, was found to work better alone than AZT alone, and is easier and cheaper to administer than a two-drug regimen. The Baylor study was the largest ever performed in pediatric AIDS, enrolling 839 children and 78 hospitals in 20 states and Puerto Rico. "Washington Wire: AIDS Funding" Wall Street Journal (03/01/96) P. A1 President Clinton is expected to request an additional $52 million for under-funded state programs that provide AIDS drugs. Congress appears likely to agree with the proposal. A coalition of AIDS activists and drug companies are calling for the funds, but say more is needed. "Nations Differ on HIV" USA Today (03/01/96) P. 2E; Sloan, Gene Of the 50 countries that require HIV tests for international visitors, most exempt people who stay fewer than 30 days. For those staying longer, a test done before arrival is usually accepted. However, for individuals who have tested positive, traveling can become difficult. Billy Kolber, editor of Out & About, a newsletter for gay travelers, says a regular problem is getting clear information on a country's policy. Indonesia, for example, surprised international travel experts when it refused to allow basketball star Magic Johnson to enter the country in 1994 because he was HIV-positive. "HIV Protein Level Tied to Babies' AIDS Risk" Boston Globe (02/29/96) P. 3 A study of HIV-positive mothers and their infants has found that women with the highest levels of HIV RNA are more likely to infect their children with the virus. Researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles Medical Center followed 42 women and their 97 infants for five years. Only 20 of the babies were infected with HIV, and most of them were born to mothers with the highest levels of HIV RNA. None of the children of mothers with the lowest RNA levels became HIV-infected. The researchers concluded that this may be why giving AZT to pregnant, HIV-positive women helps reduce the risk of transmission. A separate study in France suggests that babies born with liver and spleen enlargements or who test positive for HIV in the first week of life are at the greatest risk of developing severe AIDS-related diseases in their first year. "Abbott Has No Plans to Step Up AIDS Drug Program" Reuters (02/29/96); Drawbaugh, Kevin Abbott Laboratories Inc. said Thursday that, despite a protest by AIDS activists at a company plant in France, it does not intend to expand a special distribution program of the experimental AIDS drug ritonavir. About 40 AIDS activists, led by the group ACT UP, demonstrated Thursday at an Abbott plant in St. Remy, France, demanding that the company increase European shipments of the drug, which will be marketed under the name Norvir. The company said it will stick to its plan to provide enough of the drug, which was recommended for approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration advisory panel on Thursday, for 2,000 of the sickest AIDS patients. Thus far, the drug has only been available through clinical trials and a compassionate-use program. "AIDS Researchers Hit U.S. Refusal on Needle Exchanges" American Medical News (02/12/96) Vol.39, No.6, P. 8; Hearn, Wayne A group of 32 AIDS researchers recently sent a letter to Donna Shalala, secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), objecting to the government ban on needle exchange programs. The letter was in response to her statement in December to the New York Times that a "controversy over research" exists and that, until research conclusively proves the efficacy of needle exchanges, the government cannot fund such programs. A 1988 ban on federal funding for needle exchanges is supposed to last until the programs were proved effective. The group contends that at least six government-funded studies since 1991 have shown that the programs are effective and do not encourage the use of illegal drugs. A 1992 study at the Center for AIDS Prevention Studies at the University of California, San Francisco was based on 23 needle exchanges in 15 cities and found that the programs were successful. Five similar studies also reached similar conclusions--that the criteria to lift the ban had been met. An HHS spokesman says that the law sets a high burden of proof, and that "data that's strong but inconclusive does not pass the test." HHS claims that the research is inconclusive, citing three unpublished reports that suggest that HIV or drug use rates increased during the exchange studies. "Are Some People Immune?" Time (02/12/96) Vol.147, No.7, P. 65; Toufexis, Anastasia Some people with HIV do not develop AIDS for years, and a new study suggests that some may never get sick. European researchers have found that some infants who got HIV from their mothers seem to lose the infection. Other people appear to be immune to HIV even after being exposed to it repeatedly. AIDS researchers are exploring these unusual cases, hoping they may offer a new direction for treatment or a cure. Experts use the term "nonprogressors" to describe people who have HIV but have not demonstrated any lessened immunity in at least 10 years. Eight to 10 percent of those infected fall into this category. In Nairobi, 58 prostitutes were found to have no HIV in their blood, despite having unprotected sex with hundreds, possibly thousands, of HIV-positive men. Scientists think they may have a type of killer T cell that is able to wipe out the virus quickly. Meanwhile, in Sydney, Australia, researchers have located seven people who have not developed AIDS despite being HIV-infected via blood transfusions 15 years ago. The researchers have theorized that these individuals were infected with a strain of HIV that is missing key pieces of genetic information needed to replicate and that protects them from infection from stronger strains. However experts are particularly puzzled by the six children who tested HIV positive and subsequently completely cleared the virus from their bodies. The scientists speculate that the infants' bodies somehow eradicated the virus or that they became permanently tolerant to it.