• Clinton Foundation Negotiates $140/Year HIV Treatment, But U.S. Won't Buy
  The Clinton Foundation, World Bank, UNICEF, and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria announced that they could negotiate prices as low as $140 per year for triple-combination antiretroviral therapy. But the Bush Administration is refusing to buy generic medicines for its major HIV treatment program.

• Atherosclerosis Risk Increased With HIV; Treatment Effects Unclear
  A major report on heart disease and HIV found that HIV infection itself is associated with increased risk, independently of other factors like age, cholesterol, and smoking. Another major report did find differences among antiretrovirals, but the information is hard to summarize.

• Atazanavir (Reyataz): New Recommendations If Combined with Tenofovir (Viread) -- and Warning on Viagra, Cialis, and Levitra
  The FDA published new information on drug interactions that patients taking Reyataz should know.

• Abacavir Hypersensitivity Reaction Predicted by Genetic Test
  Researchers in Australia found an accurate test to predict who cannot tolerate Ziagen (abacavir). This is still a research test, not in general use.

• Update on Sculptra (New-Fill) Hearing
  An FDA advisory committee unanimously recommended approval of this facial treatment for people with HIV -- with restrictions to prevent general cosmetic use, pending data to justify such approval.

• Lessons From Two
  A CME (continuing medical education) module for physicians explains the problem with two antiretroviral regimens that failed last year. Several possible causes for the failure had been proposed. Now it appears that the problem was too low a genetic barrier to HIV developing certain resistance mutations.

• Retroviruses Conference: Summaries for Physicians
  This collection of CME trainings for physicians gives an in-depth review of major reports from the Retroviruses conference (February 8-11 in San Francisco), focusing on what HIV physicians need to know.

• Medicines for the World: A Way Forward
  For poor and middle-income countries we should negotiate large sales involving many countries, with all the interests at the table. Large deals and public consensus could make it viable for companies to develop treatments for diseases affecting poor regions.

ISSN # 1052-4207

Copyright 2004 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.