News briefs
NAPWA website relaunched
The National Association of People Living with HIV/AIDS (NAPWA) has a new website. The redesign of the website means an expanded range of HIV-related information is now available with easier searching and navigation. The website brings together stories published in Positive Living, information about NAPWA’s work and other material of interest to PLWHAs in a dynamic, accessible and user-friendly format. The website is at www.napwa.org.au.
Brazil plays hardball on patents
Brazil has won substantial concessions from the manufacturer of Kaletra after issuing an ultimatum to the company that said if the price of the drug wasn’t reduced, the country would produce its own generic version. Brazil has argued that it needs cheaper HIV drugs to treat more than 170,000 people, and has warned that it will use its compulsory-licensing power if drug companies do not provide their products at an acceptable cost. Brazil is in negotiations with the manufacturers of efavirenz and tenofovir, also seeking price concessions.
Keynote speaker for NAPWA conference
NAPWA has announced that the keynote speaker at the biannual conference of people living with HIV/AIDS will be World Health Organisation official Ian Grubb. Grubb, an expatriate HIV-positive Australian, is a senior adviser to the WHO’s HIV/AIDS program in Geneva, Switzerland. The conference takes place in Adelaide from 19-20 November.
NZ shaken by AIDS rise
AIDS diagnoses in New Zealand for the first half of 2005 more than doubled in the first six months of this year compared with the corresponding period last year, with 33 people diagnosed with AIDS. The increase does not mean a doubling of HIV infection but has been greeted with concern by AIDS groups and health officials in New Zealand.
Sexual transmission of hep C
Swiss researchers have added to the increasing body of evidence supporting the possibility of sexual transmission of hepatitis C among HIV-positive gay men. In a study published in the August 1 edition of Clinical Infectious Diseases, the researchers discovered that gay men who had not injected drugs were more likely to have hep C if they reported having unprotected anal intercourse, and laso noted an association between hep C infection and syphilis. These findings are consistent with other studies that have found evidence of sexual transmission of hep C between positive gay men. —Aidsmap
Annan backs air ticket levy
UN secretary-general Kofi Annan has supported a proposal to impose a levy on international airline tickets to fund HIV/AIDS relief work in the developing world. The proposal for a “solidarity fund”, put forward by the French and German governments, would add around 1–2 euros ($1.59–$3.18) to the cost of every international air ticket, and provide close to $1bn in annual funding for HIV treatment and prevention work. The proposal has been rejected by the airline industry.
No condom? That’ll cost you $400
A New Zealand man has been fined NZ$400 ($359) for endangering a sex worker by surreptitiously removing the condom she had insisted he wear. Daniel James Morgan, 48, was fined under a previously-untried section of New Zealand’s 2003 Prostitution Reform Act. Anna Reed, regional coordinator of the New Zealand Prostitutes’ Collective, said that while most sex workers “wouldn’t have been brave enough” to complain to the police in the past, she hoped the man’s conviction would encourage others to stand up for their rights. —Stuff.co.nz
Treatments briefs
Warning on antacids
People with HIV have been warned to speak to their doctor if they are taking any medication for indigestion, heartburn or gastric reflux, even if the medicine was bought over the counter. Recent clinical data has shown that some acid-reducing agents can significantly diminish the effectiveness of protease inhibitors including atazanavir, fosamprenavir and indinavir. Dr Mark Bloch, a Sydney HIV-specialist GP, said that about half of HIV-positive patients were using agents to reduce stomach acid, leading to a risk that their HIV medications may not be able to suppress the virus, and risking resistance and treatment failure.
T-20 without the needles
Drug manufacturers Roche and Trimeris have announced a study to examine administration of the fusion inhibitor T-20 using a needle-free injection device. The device, Bioject B2000, uses pressurised carbon dioxide to force medication through the skin without the use of a needle. The month-long ‘Fuzeon WAND’ study will enrol 40 US patients from August, with results due around the end of the year.
US approves tipranavir
The US Food and Drug Administration FDA granted accelerated marketing approval for Boehringer-Ingelheim’s protease inhibitor tipranavir in late June. The once-daily drug, which must be taken with low-dose ritonavir to achieve sufficiently hight blood concentrations, will be marketed under the brand name Aptivus. Tipranavir has been shown in clinical trials to be effective against HIV which has become resistant to existing protease inhibitors, making it an important option for salvage therapy. In Australia, tipranavir continues to be available through a restricted special access program.
Growth hormone reverses wasting
Recombinant human growth hormone (rHGH) is effective in reversing AIDS-related wasting in people taking HIV treatments, and can improve exercise performance, according to a US study. The study enrolled 27 adult men who had lost more than 10 percent of their body weight, who were given daily injections of either rHGH or a placebo. After three months, DEXA scans showed that the group taking the hormone had average increases in body mass of 3.7kg, compared to almost no change in the placebo group. The researchers noted that rHGH supplementation is associated with an increased risk of some cancers. — Aidsmap
Capraverine shelved
Drug manufacturer Pfizer has announced that it has stopped development of a once-promising non-nucleoside drug, capraverine following disappointing results in clinical studies. Capraverine had shown considerable promise as it was designed to be effective in people who had resistance to other non-nucleosides, however it proved to have complex interactions with other drugs and, according to a Pfizer statement, failed to show a substantial benefit compared with existing drugs. —Aidsmap
Treatment breaks
People who start HAART while their CD4 count is reasonably high can safely take extended treatment breaks, according to a study in the 1 August Clinical Infectious Diseases. The 46-person study, carried out by Spanish researchers, found that while two-thirds of participants did need to restart treatment within three years, there were no AIDS-defining events and all patients responded well to treatment when it was recommenced. The researchers concluded that their study supported the idea that people with low risk of disease progression could take extended breaks from treatment, but cautioned that careful monitoring was needed during any treatment break.
