About AIDS
By Sandy Bartlett, Fri., March 7, 2003
AIDS Advances Accompanied by Setbacks
Sometimes, AIDS work takes one step backward for every two steps forward. Last week, however, it seemed more like a dance: one forward, one back, and two sideways, as news broke about both vaccines and treatments.On the upside, the new drug Fuzeon (or T-20) is about to be widely marketed in the U.S. and has gained regulatory approval in much of Europe. This is exciting news because Fuzeon is the first of an entirely new type of anti-HIV drug, a fusion inhibitor. Fusion inhibitors act to keep HIV from entering a T-4 cell; by working outside the T-4 cell, the drug doesn't cause mitochrondrial damage, a primary cause of serious side effects. The downside: pharmaceutical giant Roche has set Fuzeon's European price at $20,570 per year for just one drug that must be combined with other not-cheap medications for the "drug cocktail." Typically, U.S. price is 5% to 20% higher than European price.
Another bummer: Aidsvax, the only experimental vaccine which has gotten as far as large-scale phase III trials, was found to be ineffective at preventing HIV infection. It couldn't even meet the unusually modest standards set by the trial. On the other hand, there is some suggestion that it might work for blacks and Asians. More research is needed to see if the numbers are a statistical fluke, or if Aidsvax really does offer protection to African-Americans.
The Treatment Update workshop scheduled at ASA for Feb. 26 had to be canceled because of the ice storm. There was lots of enthusiasm for this program, so we will re-schedule it as soon as Dr. Wallace's calendar permits. Please watch this column for a future date announcement.
