AIDS Treatment News
December 6, 1996
From AIDS Treatment News
Contents:
- Buyers' Club Crisis -- Challenge for AIDS Communities
- Fewer AIDS Deaths: San Francisco Information
- FDA Advisory Committee Deadlocks on Delavirdine
- Albendazole Free from Buyers' Club
- Books: Impure Science
- Buyers' Clubs List, December 1996
- AIDS Treatment News Reader Survey
Buyers' Club Crisis
-- Challenge for AIDS Communityby John S. James
|
|
The first AIDS "buyers' clubs" were started almost ten years ago
to obtain potential treatments which were legal but not readily available.
Throughout their history these groups have repeatedly provided the first access
to lifesaving treatments before they are approved in the U.S. -- and despite
important improvements in the drug-approval process, the clubs still continue to
do so (by making available NTZ, for example, or albendazole, before workable
formal mechanisms were ready; earlier examples included clarithromycin, ddC,
and thalidomide).
Today many of these organizations, including some of the oldest and
largest, face a new threat to their survival. This year's good news (both real
and exaggerated) about protease inhibitors and other antiretrovirals in
combination has shifted interest to mainstream treatments -- and led to greatly
reduced use of "alternative" treatments and nutritional supplements
by persons with HIV or AIDS. The major buyers' clubs have largely relied on
product sales to keep their doors open and to support their advocacy and
education work. They seldom share in the usual funding of AIDS service
organizations. And they often lose money on a lifesaving drug, and on the
advocacy, patient education, and other services which they do for free.
The buyers' clubs themselves and the larger AIDS community must
re-evaluate the mission and funding of these organizations. Their loss would
permanently weaken the AIDS empowerment movement, threatening serious harm to
individuals whether they use buyers' clubs or not. (For example, providing
alternative access to NTZ forced its developer, and the FDA, to act more
quickly to provide NTZ by authorized channels to persons with
cryptosporidiosis; see AIDS Treatment News #258, November 1, 1996. And when the
buyers' clubs began, they forced down exorbitant prices at some health-food
stores often used by people with AIDS, by providing a non-exploitative
alternative; without the clubs, prices will rise again.)
Advertisement Another critical contribution of the clubs is patient education. Nonprofit
organizations, controlled by community boards largely made up of persons with
HIV, are more trustworthy than for-profit health-food stores for selecting what
products to offer, and what information to bring to peoples' attention.
A key issue today and for the future will be more focused uses of "alternative"
treatments to supplement mainstream therapies -- for treating specific
conditions caused either by HIV infection or its complications, or by drug side
effects. It is well known that mainstream research is slow to test potential
treatments which are already widely available at little cost, since they offer
little profit potential. If such approaches are to be considered and used at
all it will usually be through the alternative system, at least for the first
several years. And here the buyers' clubs are centrally important for
collecting and sharing information, even when the treatment itself could
physically be obtained elsewhere.
The Economics of AIDS Treatment Organizations
The original buyers' clubs (which still exist today, after almost ten years)
are part of a second wave of AIDS organizations, which challenged the
everybody-dies orientation of the early AIDS era. Other organizations in this
second wave include Project Inform, AIDS Treatment News, and treatment
committees in some ACT UP chapters and other activist groups.
This second wave has generally not shared in the mainstream of AIDS
funding -- neither the large events, nor foundation grants, nor participation
in government programs (there are exceptions). Ten years ago, when the second
wave started, treatment activism was not respectable; because of lack of social
support for such a purpose, these organizations had to operate in an
"underground"
atmosphere, on the borderline of the law, amid charges of "false
hope."
(One example of the overall lack of support is that manufacturers would often
refuse to deal with AIDS organizations when they would have no problem selling
the same product to health-food distributors; therefore, discretion and
intermediaries had to be used.)
Today there are basically three kinds of buyers' clubs. The original
organizations use product sales to keep the doors open, and also to support
advocacy and troubleshooting when necessary to make important treatments
available; many also provide libraries or other client education without charge.
Another model is to run a buyers' club as a health-food business, although with
more focus on a particular community -- but without advocacy, education, or
other services which are not sales related. A third kind of buyers' club
operates as a project of a larger AIDS service organization which provides the
space and perhaps some staff; sometimes these groups are largely volunteer,
with product sold at or near cost.
The original kind of buyers' clubs -- which have supported their advocacy
work through product sales -- have long had the knowledge, experience, and
independence to make critical contributions to patient access to important but
unapproved medications. These are the ones most threatened in the current era
of redirection of treatment resources toward large pharmaceutical companies and
away from other institutions of treatment and care.
It should not be difficult to raise the money required to make the
difference between failure vs. continued availability of this important
community resource -- for two reasons. First, relatively little money is
required, as these organizations have been self-supporting for many years; they
operate efficiently, and generate income. Second, many people who want to
donate to AIDS in some way do not have a particular organization in mind; they
would be open to the buyers' clubs if they knew there was a need, and if
donation to these organizations were commonly talked about in the community,
and were made attractive (for example, by explaining better what an organization
does, or by offering options for designating how a contribution would be used).
The challenge now is for buyers' clubs and their supporters to develop
networks of donors -- either working together with the large service
organizations, or separately -- to reduce dependence on product sales, and
assure continuation of the critically important work of advocacy,
troubleshooting, education, and facilitating research, on treatment options
which may be critically important but are being ignored or mishandled by
government and industry.
[See below for a current list of buyers' clubs and related organizations,
and some of the services they offer.]
|
Fewer AIDS Deaths:
San Francisco Informationby John S. James
|
|
The most important benefit of AIDS treatment is saving lives, but this is
often hard to measure. While large clinical trials offer the most authoritative
proof that a treatment is working, "survival endpoint" trials often
take years, and present major ethical and practical problems, since no one
wants to be assigned to the group which spends months or years receiving a
treatment that results in more deaths. Also, clinical trials often test drugs
under artificial conditions, such as with a non-representative patient group to
get cleaner, more homogeneous data -- or with a design more focused on what a
company needs to get its new drug approved than on the practical information
doctors and patients need to know.
The most direct way to get more real-world information is to ask
physicians how their patients are doing. It is clear that patients of
HIV-experienced physicians are doing much better now than a year or more ago.
But it is hard to get numbers to quantify how much better. A formal research
project to obtain comprehensive data should be done, but would take some time
to organize.
Another way to get some indication of how well treatments are working is
to look for major changes in overall AIDS death rates (although other factors
also influence death rates, including success of prevention programs years ago,
people moving into or out of the area being studied, and the usual pattern of
more deaths early in epidemics, when the most susceptible tend to become ill
and progress most rapidly). And a practical problem here is that public death
statistics can take a long time to become complete, as the official forms move
slowly through various institutions.
One possible indicator of overall survival (although not considered
"scientific")
is the decline in published obituaries of AIDS-related deaths. Unlike official
statistics, obituaries usually reflect recent deaths, not what happened years
ago.
In San Francisco, one weekly gay newspaper, the BAY AREA REPORTER, has
published obituaries for many years. Recently it has been widely noticed that
there has been a big decline in the number of them, especially in the last
year; and the November 28 issue published some figures in an editorial, "No
More Marking World AIDS Day," and accompanying graph. Obituaries have
declined by about half just since January of this year -- which was already a
big improvement over previous years. There has been no change in the policy of
publishing these notices promptly.
The editorial notes that in the worst week, several years ago, the paper
received and published 37 death notices. This year, the highest number was 16,
in January. This week, and also last week, there were four -- and at least
three of those in the last two issues were not AIDS-related. (We called the
editor and learned that there will be five death notices in the December 5
issue, which appears after this issue of AIDS Treatment News goes to press.)
These figures probably underestimate what is possible with the new
treatments, since not everybody has access to the best care.
Also, two weeks ago on November 21, the BAY AREA REPORTER published an
article, "Are Some Doctors Blowing It," by Stephen LeBlanc of the ACT
UP/Golden Gate Writers Pool. The writer interviewed several leading physicians,
who reported dramatically improved results for most of their patients -- but
they also expressed alarm that many physicians, even in the San Francisco area,
are not using the new drugs properly, and the benefit could be lost as viral
resistance develops.
For a copy of the articles, send an email request to salinasguy@aol.com,
or write to Editor Mike Salinas, BAY AREA REPORTER, 395 Ninth St., San
Francisco, CA 94103.
|
FDA Advisory Committee
Deadlocks on Delavirdineby Mark Mascolini
|
The FDA's Antiviral Drugs Advisory Committee split evenly on whether to
recommend accelerated approval of delavirdine, the non-nucleoside reverse
transcriptase inhibitor developed by Pharmacia & Upjohn. After reviewing
data from three clinical trials at a November 22 hearing, four committee
members recommended approval despite delavirdine's variable effects on CD4
count and viral load when combined with AZT, ddI, or both. They argued that the
drug seems safe (rash is the only notable side effect) and that it may prove
useful for people who have failed or cannot tolerate most other drugs for HIV.
But another four members of the committee remained unconvinced that
delavirdine's impact on CD4 cells and circulating virus would translate into
slower HIV disease progression. Indeed, in the one study that evaluated
delavirdine's effect on rates of opportunistic diseases or death, delavirdine
plus ddI was no better than ddI alone.
Now the FDA must decide whether to approve delavirdine pending the results
of an ongoing trial that may confirm a benefit, or whether to deny approval.
After the hearing, Dr. Donald Batts of Pharmacia & Upjohn expressed
confidence about winning accelerated approval and pledged to work with the FDA
toward that end.
The study that assessed the effects of delavirdine on disease progression
compared the standard dose of ddI plus 400 mg of delavirdine three times daily
against ddI plus placebo in almost 1200 people with an average CD4 count of
135. All had taken AZT before and about 25% had taken ddI. An independent panel
that looks at results as they come in decided to end the trial early because it
judged that there would be no difference between the two groups in rates of
disease progression or death. At that point there were 66 deaths in the
ddI/delavirdine group and 61 deaths in the ddI/placebo group. There were fewer
cases of herpes zoster (shingles) and parasitic infections in the
ddI/delavirdine group than in the ddI/placebo group. But there was no major
difference between the groups in overall rates of opportunistic diseases.
Although CD4 counts were substantially higher and viral load drops greater in
the combination group in the first 8 to 12 weeks of the study, those
differences disappeared.
Another trial found that CD4 and viral load improvements were sustained
for a year or more among people with less advanced disease who were taking
delavirdine plus AZT. This study compared AZT plus placebo with AZT plus one of
three doses of delavirdine: 200, 300, or 400 mg three times daily. There were
about 180 individuals in each of the four study groups, and their average CD4
count was between 325 and 340. About 60% had not taken AZT before, while the
rest had taken it for fewer than 6 months.
After 52 weeks of study, people taking either the 300- or 400-mg doses of
delavirdine plus AZT sustained 20 to 30 CD4 cell increases, and this
improvement was significantly better than the results in the other two groups.
The level of circulating HIV stayed about a half-log (3-fold) below starting
levels in the 300 and 400 mg groups for 52 weeks, and this decrease in viral
load was again significantly better than the decrease in the other two groups.
An analyst from the FDA pointed out that CD4 improvements in the two
higher-dose combination arms versus the low-dose combination arm and the
AZT-alone arm did not begin to emerge until week 24 of the study and did not
become significant until week 40. The FDA noted that there was no CD4 difference
until 20% of the study participants had dropped out, and that the dropouts as a
group were doing worse when they left the study than those who stayed in. As a
result, the FDA told the advisory committee it found the CD4 improvement "suggestive
but not convincing" and said that finding should be confirmed in another
trial.
Because of the tight hearing schedule, the company did not have a chance
to challenge the FDA conclusion. But Pharmacia & Upjohn's William Freimuth,
M.D., later argued that the year-long CD4 response in the two higher-dose
delavirdine groups matches the long viral load response in those groups and so
is more than "suggestive." Dr. Freimuth also said the company can
demonstrate that most of the dropouts in the study who had been taking
delavirdine were doing nearly as well as those who stayed in the study -- and
substantially better than dropouts who were taking only AZT.
Preliminary results from an ongoing study, ACTG 261, suggested that
delavirdine plus AZT and ddI may boost CD4 counts more than AZT/ddI,
AZT/delavirdine, or ddI/delavirdine after 40 weeks of treatment. But this
improvement was not great in a strict data analysis in which results are
figured according to original treatment assignments, even if study participants
switch to another group at some point. (Experts believe this kind of analysis
is the most reliable.) Further data from this study, two thirds of whose
participants were drug naive, should be available in mid-January.
In the ddI/delavirdine study, nearly half of the persons taking that
combination had some skin rash as a result of one or both drugs, and over 40%
of those taking AZT/delavirdine had rash. Thirty-one of 296 people taking
ddI/delavirdine left the study because of rash, and 7 of 122 taking
AZT/delavirdine did so. The rash emerges in the first weeks of therapy, and Dr.
Batts said that 85% of those who get rash can keep taking delavirdine at full
dose if they also take an over-the-counter antihistamine.
But people taking delavirdine should not take nonsedating antihistamines
such as terfenadine and astemizole. Other drugs that should not be taken with
delavirdine are rifampin, rifabutin, cisapride, triazolam, alprazolam, and
midazolam. Delavirdine doubles levels of clarithromycin in the blood. If
treatment includes both delavirdine and ddI, the drugs are better absorbed if
they are taken an hour apart.
An important and only partly resolved question is the effect of
delavirdine on protease inhibitors. So far, studies in healthy people without
HIV infection found that delavirdine increases concentrations of saquinavir 4 to
5 times and doubles the concentration of indinavir. Possible interactions with
ritonavir are less certain because volunteers took only half the recommended
dose of ritonavir in the interaction studies. The company is now studying these
combinations in people with HIV.
The interaction between delavirdine and saquinavir seems enticing because
low blood levels are a major problem with the current formulation of
saquinavir. But this combination was associated with liver toxicity in the
study with healthy volunteers, so it may prove crucial for anyone who takes the
two drugs to have regular liver function tests.
Some committee members suggested that the most likely role for
delavirdine--if approved--may be for people who have used up other HIV drug
options, especially those who have failed with indinavir or ritonavir. But
committee chair Dr. Scott Hammer noted that using delavirdine only for advanced
disease could bias evaluation of its potential worth. He urged rapid study of
the drug in triple and even quadruple combinations to see if it can strengthen
regimens when used earlier in infection. All committee members agreed that
delavirdine should not be used alone, and some were dubious about combining it
with only one other drug.
|
Albendazole Free from Buyers' Club |
Albendazole is a drug used in treating microsporidiosis; recently it has
been approved by the FDA for an unrelated use, so it is now available to U.S.
physicians. Some buyers' clubs carried this drug before it was available in the
U.S. There has never been a large demand (probably largely because
microsporidiosis is difficult to diagnose), but access has been important for
some people.
AIDS Treatment Initiatives (see listing above), the buyers' club in
Atlanta, will no longer be carrying albendazole, but has a limited supply of
about 140 boxes of three 400 mg tablets each. Since this medicine expires in
January 1997, the group will give it away to persons with a prescription for
it. There is a standard $6 per order charge for shipping and handling.
Mail or fax a request and prescription, including the doctor's name,
address, and phone number, and the patient's name, shipping address, and phone
number. AIDS Treatment Initiatives can be reached at 404/874-4845 phone,
404/874- 9320 fax.
|
Books: Impure Science: AIDS, Activism,
and the Politics of Knowledge by Steven Epstein,
University of California Press, 1996
Reviewed by John S. James
|
This book on AIDS treatment activism is based on the author's sociology
thesis at the University of California. A striking difference from most AIDS
activism books is that the author followed a methodology of analyzing both
mainstream and dissenting views in the same way; this differs from the usual
approach which tends to accept a mainstream world view as true, and then tries
to "explain" other opinions as various kinds of errors. (Many books
on treatment activism pick the authors' favorite heroes -- and often villains
as well -- typically chosen arbitrarily depending on whom the author happened
to talk to; the need to maintain these arbitrary white-hat/black-hat assignments
gets in the way of telling what people said and did, and why it was important.)
The strength of Impure Science is in telling what happened; its weakness (for
the general reader) is that it tends not to come to conclusions, leaving no
easy bottom line to take away.
Part I of the book, "The Politics of Causation," looks at the
questioning by Dr. Peter Duesberg and others about whether HIV causes AIDS. One
looks in vain for Epstein's opinions about Duesberg and his views -- but does
get a useful 135- page annotated chronology of the controversy.
The longer and more important part II, "The Politics of
Treatment,"
looks at many issues in AIDS treatment activism, for example in drug
regulation, and in the design and methodology of clinical trials. Epstein sees
CREDIBILITY STRUGGLES as central to the dynamic of science -- and is most
interested in what it means, for good and/or for ill, when lay persons and
groups develop their own expertise and enter into specialized policy realms
previously left to certified experts.
By making contemporary history accessible in an unbiased way, Impure Science will have lasting value for scholars, writers, policy experts, AIDS
professionals and activists, and others with a deep interest in the subject.
But it is probably too specialized to have much effect on the sound-bite world
of general public discourse.
For treatment activists, the practical bottom line that this reader has
taken (or, perhaps, constructed) from the book is support for the view that the
key factor influencing technical issues of AIDS research/development/treatment
policy is the professional consensus (primarily of scientists and physicians, in
academic, government, corporate, private, and other roles, but also including
some other AIDS professionals, and lay experts to some extent). When treatment
activists have an important concern, the best place to take it for action (if
action is possible) is usually this professional consensus -- although of
course there are also times to address other centers of influence, such as
Congress, or the White House, or the FDA, or the public and the media.
|
Buyers' Clubs List,
December 1996 |
Each year AIDS Treatment News has published a list of AIDS buyers' clubs,
along with activist groups and PWA Coalition chapters, in one of our December
issues. This year we have listed the buyers' clubs separately, and provided
expanded information for them.
Although AIDS buyers' clubs have existed for about ten years, there has
never been an exact definition of what is and what is not a "buyers'
club."
Most buyers' clubs have 501(c)3 IRS status, meaning that they can receive
tax-exempt contributions; but other groups organized as businesses have often
been included in buyers' club lists (a matter debated for years but never
resolved). Our listing below indicates groups which have 501(c)3 status (or are
programs of larger 501(c)3 organizations).
How did we decide which to include here? We started with our list from
previous years, and also looked at lists kept by some buyers' clubs, and at
community consensus or recommendations on which buyers' clubs or other
businesses to list. Most of those below have been involved with AIDS (or
sometimes other immune illnesses) for years. Some organizations which might
qualify were not listed because we could not reach anyone by press time. If you
believe we have omitted a group which should have been included (or included a
group which should not have been), please let us know.
We did not include cannabis buyers' clubs here, as we prefer to list them
separately.
Notes:
- All or almost all of the following organizations will provide a
product and price list on request. Most will accept cash, check, money order,
or credit cards, and can provide fast delivery options -- but policies differ,
so ask if you need to make sure. The list below indicates which will accept
mail order and international orders.
- Many focus on low prices, and several have lowered their prices recently.
Some carry as many as 200 or more different products; others carry as few as
one.
- Some buyers' clubs require membership so that a release form is kept on
file; some offer optional membership for product discounts and other benefits;
others do not have membership at all.
- The list below is alphabetical by state, then by city within the state,
and then by name of the organization when there are more than one in the same
city.
- For donors, many of the 501(c)3 buyers' clubs are part of larger AIDS
organizations; in these cases, contributors usually can designate a donation to
the buyers' club. Call the buyers' club for specific instructions on making a
donation.
- Office hours can change; call to confirm before visiting.
Buyers Clubs (U.S.)
- Being Alive Buyers' Club (a program of AIDS Project Arizona),
602/265-2437, 602/265-9951 fax, bealive@apaz.org, 111 E. Camelback Rd.,
Phoenix, AZ 85012, hours 9:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. Mon.-Fri.
Mail order accepted, including international. Newsletter. Library.
Referrals. Advocacy. Financial-need discounts to local residents. Membership
$10 per year. 501(c)3. Part of larger early intervention program, Being Alive.
Specializes in products for gastrointestinal problems. Collaborates on
alternative research with the Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine.
Prices set at cost plus 15%. Buyers' club growing rapidly.
- Travis Wright Memorial Buyers' Club (PACT for Life), 520/770-1710,
520/622-5822 fax, http://www.nevernet.com/mentor/pact, 801 W. Congress St.,
Tucson, AZ 85745, call for office hours.
Mail order accepted, including international. Referrals. Advocacy.
Financial-need discounts. Works with separate Wellness Program, which began
with CARE Act funding and is seeking grants to extend complementary therapy
services, including naturopathic physician, massage, and acupuncture. Donation
accepted for massage and acupuncture appointments.
- Healing Alternatives Foundation, 415/626-2316 recorded message,
415/626-4053 office, 415/626-0451 fax, 800/219-2233 (phone orders by credit
card only), haf@out.org email, http://www.out.org/hafbuyersclub, 1748 Market
St. Suite 205, San Francisco, CA 94102-5806, 12 noon - 7:00 p.m. Tue. - Fri.,
and 12 noon - 5:00 Sat.
Mail-order accepted, including international. Newsletter. Large and
well-organized library. Referrals. Extensive advocacy work for access to drugs.
Annual membership $1 to $25 sliding scale. 501(c)3. New medical marijuana
program. Observational database projects on viral load (which offers four free
viral load tests), and on thalidomide. Healing Alternatives also offers a
"doctors'
report card," a large notebook of peoples' reports of their experiences
with physicians they have seen.
- CFIDS and Fibromyalgia Health Resource, 800/366-6056, 805/965-0042
fax, health@silcom.com email, 1187 Coast Village Rd. #1-280, Santa Barbara, CA
93108.
Mail order only. Two newsletters. Special group discounts. Referrals to
support groups, but not medical referrals. Focus on immune modulators. Not tax
exempt; parent company is Pro Health, Inc.
- LifeLink, 805/473-1389, 888/433-5266 toll free, 805/473- 2803 fax,
delano@dax.win.net, http://www.lifelinknet.com, 750 Farroll Rd. Suite H, Grover
Beach, CA 93433.
Mail order only, some international. Thalidomide available.
- Embrace Life, 800/448-1170, 408/464-7444, 408/476-7717 fax,
embrace@bnbcomp.net, 2070-C Wharf Road, Capitola, CA 95010.
Mail order available, including international. Drop-in office open but
call first to confirm. Much information available but not organized as a
library.
- Denver Buyers' Club (PWA Coalition Colorado), 303/329-9379,
303/329-9381 fax, P.O. Box 300339, Denver, CO 80203.
Office visits by appointment only. Mail order available, including
international. No credit cards. Newsletter RESOLUTE (which is the major service
of the PWA Coalition). Small library available. Advocacy. Products offered at
cost, no discounts. 501(c)3.
- Carl Vogel Center, 202/638-0750, 202/638-0749 fax, 1010 Vermont
Ave. NW, #510, Washington, DC 20005-3405, hours noon - 6 p.m. Tue-Sat,
noon-9:00 p.m. on Wednesday.
Mail order accepted, U.S. only. Referrals. Advocacy. Membership $25,
includes a free BIA test, and discounts for members. 501(c)3. Some items
require a prescription. Produces quarterly educational symposia and workshops.
Vendor of the Alternative Therapy Program of the Washington D.C. AIDS Drug
Assistance Program, which provides acupuncture, therapeutic massage, Chinese
herbal formulas, and antioxidants. Collaborating with Bastyr University in
NIH-funded study of the use and effectiveness of alternative therapies for HIV
disease. Provides BIA interpretation to measure lean body mass.
- AIDS Manasota, 941/954-6011, 941/951-1721 fax, 2080 Ringling Blvd.
#302, Sarasota, FL 34237-7030, hours 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Mon. - Fri.
- Mail order accepted, including international, but mail order must be
pre-paid. Newsletter. Library. Referrals. Advocacy. No special discounts; all
product is cost plus 10% (plus $6 shipping for mail order). 501(c)3. Peer
counseling. Massage therapy. Healthy PWA program. Pet support service. Emergency
housing assistance. Positively Woman to Woman support group. Annual "Until
There Is a Cure" conference. Biggest fundraiser is annual two-car
raffle.
- Wholesale Health, 954/764-1587, 888/666-6743 toll-free, 909 NE 18
St., Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33305.
Mostly mail order (local pickup possible), some international.
- Health Link, 954/565-8284, 954/565-8289 fax, 3213 North Ocean
Blvd., #6, Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33308, open Tues. - Fri.., call for office
hours.
Mail order accepted, including international. Newsletter. Library.
Advocacy. Financial-need discounts. Membership $30 per year. 501(c)3. Operates
comprehensive medical clinic for people with HIV. In addition to alternative
treatments, conventional pharmacy is available. Participates in ADAP.
- AIDS Treatment Initiatives, 404/874-4845, 404/874-9320 fax, 828 W
Peachtree St. NW, Suite 210, Atlanta GA 30308. Extended office hours starting
January, 10:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. Mon. - Fri.
Mail order accepted. Referrals. Advocacy. Membership $25 per year.
501(c)3. Some items require a prescription. Library: Works closely with AIDS
Survival Project, a separate organization housed in the same building, which
has an extensive library and a treatment resource specialist.
- Boston Buyers' Club, 800/435-5586 or 617/266-2223, 617/450- 9412
fax, 29 Stanhope St., Boston, MA 02116.
Mail order accepted, including international. Newsletter. 501(c)3. New
program, Treatment Information Network, will focus on referrals, advocacy, and
treatment information services for HIV/AIDS. Currently only selling SPV-30, but
will offer a range of nutritional supplements beginning December 16. Located at
the Boston Living Center.
- DAAIR, 212/725-6994, 888/951-LIFE (outside New York State),
212/689-6471 fax, info@daair.org email for information, order@daair.org email
for orders, http://www.immunet.org/daair. 31 E. 30th Street, Suite 2A, New York,
NY 10016. Hours for ordering by phone Mon. - Sat. 10:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m., or
voicemail any time; hours for walk-in, 3:30 p.m. - 6:30 p.m. Wed. and Fri., and
2:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. Sat.
Mail order accepted, including international. Financial-need discounts.
Membership on sliding scale $5 to $25; anyone can request free Membership
Outreach Pack. Introductory meeting every two weeks. Treatment advocacy and
education forums; support groups; prayer groups; meditation, movement, and
other classes.
- PWA Health Group, 212/255-0520, 212/255-2080 fax, 150 West 26th
Street, #201, New York, NY 10001, hours 10 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. Mon. - Fri., and
12:00 - 4:00 Sat.
Orders accepted in English, Spanish, and Portuguese. Mail order accepted,
including international. Newsletter NOTES FROM THE UNDERGROUND, Spanish edition
NOTAS DE LA CLANDESTINIDAD, and many information packets. Referrals. Extensive
advocacy for access to treatments, especially for opportunistic infections. 30%
discount for persons with AIDS on Medicaid, Medicare, or in need. Treatment
education program, Women's Treatment Project support groups, discussion groups,
trainings, programs in jails, customized training workshops with agencies.
Canada
- Canadian Nutrition Club, 613/284-0076, 800/996-8466 toll- free
from Canada, 613/283-9306 fax, 275 Brockville St., Smiths Falls, ON K7A 4Z6,
hours 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Mon. - Fri.
Mail order accepted, including international. Library. Referrals. Limited
advocacy. Pharmacy on site. Registered nutritional consultant on staff and
available for counseling.
- Supplements Plus, 416/977-3088, 800/387-4761 toll-free,
416/977-3099 fax, remedies@web.net email, 317 Adeline St. West #503, Toronto,
ON M5V 1P9, call for office hours.
Mail order accepted, including international. Library at three locations
in Toronto; HIV, alternative therapy information. Financial-need discounts.
Sponsors educational forums.
|
AIDS TREATMENT NEWS
Reader Survey |
|
What kinds of articles should we publish in the future? We would like to
hear from you. Our printed reader survey is also online, at:
http://www.immunet.org/atn
Copyright 1996 by John S. James. Permission granted for
noncommercial reproduction, provided that our address
and phone number are included if more than short
quotations are used.
|
 This article was provided by AIDS Treatment News. It is a part of the publication AIDS Treatment News.
|
|
Advertisement
|
Email
Print-Friendly
Glossary
