News archive
News archive 20/06/2008
AIDS failure at Merck elevates Burton vaccine for 2 million
Scientists say it may be at least 10 more years before another such promising vaccine candidate emerges from testing.
News archive 20/06/2008
First survey on patients’ involvement in the European Medicines Agency’s work reveals high satisfaction levels overall
Representatives of European patients’ and consumers’ organisations have expressed their appreciation for the work being done by the European Medicines Agency to involve them in its core activity areas.
News archive 19/06/2008
'Liver stiffness' and insulin resistance connection in HIV/hepatitis C coinfected patients
The study is further evidence of the association between insulin resistance and poorer outcome in coinfected patients.
News archive 19/06/2008
Insulin resistance means coinfected patients have a poorer response to hepatitis C treatment
Measures to improve insulin resistance, such as exercise or weight loss, could improve the chances of hepatitis C therapy achieving good results.
News archive 19/06/2008
CVD is a "major killer" in HIV+ patients, but underrecognized by doctors
Underawareness of cardiovascular risk is prevalent among HIV physicians and cardiologists alike.
News archive 19/06/2008
Scientific data key to better EU health care: WHO
European Union governments fail to rely enough on scientific evidence in health care spending decisions and are sometimes influenced by political factors.
News archive 19/06/2008
Sanofi: Girls lose in UK choice of HPV vaccine
Ending a closely watched contest, the UK Department of Health has chosen Glaxo to supply its Cervarix HPV vaccine over the next three years, besting a competing bid from Sanofi-Pasteur and Merck, which market the rival Gardasil vaccine.
News archive 19/06/2008
Vertex CEO preparing for '09 hepatitis drug launch
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc will be prepared to launch its experimental hepatitis C drug next year even though U.S. regulators have not said whether they would review it based on a mid-stage trial.
News archive 19/06/2008
Herpes treatment no help in preventing HIV
Treating people who have herpes simplex virus type 2 with acyclovir doesn't reduce their risk of HIV infection.
News archive 19/06/2008
Genetically modified mosquitoes may combat malaria
In a cramped, humid laboratory in London, mosquitoes swarming in stacked, net-covered cages are being scrutinized for keys to controlling malaria.
News archive 19/06/2008
EU drugmakers demand repackaging ban to stop fakes
Drugmakers called for a ban on the repackaging of medicines within the European Union in order to stamp out the growing threat of counterfeits.
News archive 19/06/2008
Idea of the day: use inducement prizes to stimulate innovation
Inducement prizes encourage efforts by contestants to accomplish a particular goal, as opposed to recognition prizes such as the Nobel Prize which reward researchers for past achievements.
News archive 19/06/2008
Indian Patent Office rejects AIDS drug patent application
Adopts strict interpretations of patentability criteria in rejecting application for critical AIDS drug.
News archive 19/06/2008
Tentative approval: Fixed dose combination of generic lamivudine/stavudine tablets for pediatric dosing
FDA granted tentative approval to fixed dose combination lamivudine/stavudine tablets, 30mg/6mg & 60mg/12mg for oral suspension for pediatric use, manufactured by Cipla Limited of Mumbai, India.
News archive 18/06/2008
Boosted protease inhibitors have 60% lower risk of resistance compared with other classes
The study also showed that the risk of resistance amongst patients starting anti-HIV treatment for the first time has fallen significantly in more recent years.
News archive 18/06/2008
Nucleoside levels in seminal fluid higher than in blood, but not inside cells
Even though free virus in semen may be successfully suppressed by nucleoside analogues, individual variations between patients in drug metabolism may leave some with lymphocytes in semen capable of transmitting HIV infection.
News archive 18/06/2008
New type of Kaposi’s sarcoma seen in HIV-negative gay men
A new variant of Kaposi’s sarcoma has been described by French skin specialists in middle-aged, HIV-negative gay men with normal immune function.
News archive 18/06/2008
Epilepsy drug doesn’t reduce HIV reservoir
These new data seriously challenge the results of a preliminary study suggesting that valproic acid, also known as Depakote, could work in tandem with antiretrovirals to eradicate HIV from the human body.
News archive 18/06/2008
Theratechnologies reports positive 26-week results for its second tesamorelin Phase 3 trial
Results confirm findings of earlier study.
News archive 18/06/2008
Monogram Biosciences collaborates with Gilead Sciences for elvitegravir Phase III studies
PhenoSense GT(TM) and PhenoSense Integrase(TM) assays used to study promising new integrase inhibitor.
News archive 18/06/2008
Psychosocial issues affect HIV/AIDS treatment outcomes
Psychosocial influences such as stress, depression and trauma have been neglected in biomedical and treatment studies involving people infected with HIV.
News archive 18/06/2008
Mexico should declare HIV/AIDS a national emergency to ensure universal access to antiretrovirals, coalition says
According to the coalition, antiretrovirals cost up to 30 times more in Mexico than in other countries with comparable per capita incomes.
News archive 18/06/2008
Consumers want gifts to docs disclosed: survey
A majority of Americans - 68 percent - support legislation to require drugmakers to disclose gifts and payments to docs.
News archive 18/06/2008
Generic tastes
Less than a week after Daiichi Sankyo of Japan announced an agreed offer for Ranbaxy, valuing India’s largest generic manufacturer at €8.5bn, Sanofi-Aventis has followed suit.
News archive 18/06/2008
A new report from the European network Action for Global Health
More aid for health and better spent.
News archive 18/06/2008
Biotech still a sales star
Global revenue up 12.5%, outstripping mainstream.
News archive 17/06/2008
Experimental HIV drug hits snag
Development of Koronis Pharmaceuticals’ KP-1461, an experimental antiretroviral, has been suspended after an analysis of existing data failed to show anti-HIV activity.
News archive 17/06/2008
Bush during meeting with British Prime Minister Brown calls on G8 to fulfill aid commitments to Africa
The Group of Eight industrialized nations should match aid commitments to Africa made by the U.S.
News archive 17/06/2008
Hunt for escaped TB patients
Health authorities in South Africa said they were sending out a team in protective clothing to hunt for tuberculosis patients who escaped from hospital.
News archive 16/06/2008
HIV/AIDS advocates petition Sen. Reid to override Sen. Coburn's block on PEPFAR reauthorization bills
In an effort to pass the measure ahead of the G8 summit and July 4 recess, supporters are launching an effort that will include a sit-in as early as this week in the Senate, as well as a protest march on June 26.
News archive 16/06/2008
G8 nations should increase aid to Africa to meet 2010 targets, report says
The Group of Eight industrialized nations should increase assistance to Africa in order to meet pledges to double aid to the continent by 2010.
News archive 16/06/2008
HIV progression linked to apolipoprotein E
HIV progression is accelerated by a protein long associated with the development of Alzheimer's disease.
News archive 16/06/2008
Sensitivity enhancements to Monogram's Trofile(TM) assay demonstrate improved power to select patients for CCR5 antagonist therapy
At levels of X4 using virus as low as 0.3%, Trofile is 100% sensitive.
News archive 16/06/2008
Orasure's oral AIDS test has too many false positives
Inaccurate results from Orasure Technologies Inc.'s oral AIDS test have spurred New York City to stop using the screens to test saliva in clinics.
News archive 16/06/2008
GSK tops new ethical ranking for investors
A new rating of 20 of the world's biggest pharmaceutical companies by how ethically they treat the poor has given Britain's GlaxoSmithKline top marks, followed by Denmark's Novo Nordisk and Merck of the US.
News archive 15/06/2008
New index explains why some drugs work better than others against HIV
A team of AIDS experts has found a simple mathematical equation that accurately explains how well each of 25 anti-HIV drugs in five commonly used drug groups suppresses the virus and keeps the disease in check.
News archive 14/06/2008
HPV vaccine for boys? It just might happen
The virus that causes cervical cancer also leads to throat cancer in males.
News archive 13/06/2008
Mozambique to build HIV/AIDS drug plant
Mozambique has approved the construction of a $23 million pharmaceutical plant that will manufacture drugs to treat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases.
News archive 13/06/2008
Coinfection with HIV and HCV in pregnancy
Pregnant women coinfected with both HIV and hepatitis C virus are more likely to have detectable HIV levels, even if they’re using antiretroviral therapy, than women infected with just HIV.
News archive 13/06/2008
Neuropathy skin patch reduces pain
A dermal patch containing the experimental drug NGX-4010 for HIV-related distal sensory polyneuropathy significantly reduced pain over a 12-week period.
News archive 13/06/2008
S Africa bans Aids vitamin trials
A South African court has banned unauthorised trials of vitamin therapies for Aids, which some say are a health risk.
News archive 13/06/2008
Source of drug-tolerant tuberculosis possibly behind TB relapses, intensity of treatment
University of Pittsburgh-led researchers discovered that the primary bacteria behind tuberculosis can grow on surfaces and that drug-tolerant strains flourish in these bacterial communities.
News archive 12/06/2008
Scoring tool predicts risk of KS progression
Swiss researchers have developed a scoring tool to help identify HIV-positive patients with Kaposi’s sarcoma who are most likely to experience KS disease progression.
News archive 12/06/2008
Idenix presents positive Phase I/II data of IDX899
Positive Phase I/II data of IDX899 confirm potent antiviral activity and favorable safety profile in treatment-naive HIV-infected patients.
News archive 12/06/2008
Promising data presented on GenVec malaria vaccine program
Data from the second cohort of volunteers in a Phase I/IIa clinical trial showed a malaria vaccine candidate induced strong T-cell responses against the target antigens in all volunteers.
News archive 12/06/2008
FDA & EMEA collaborate on some safety tests
The two regulatory agencies are calling this the “first use of a framework allowing submission of a single application.â€
News archive 12/06/2008
GSK cuts 2% of its research staff as restructuring moves ahead
GlaxoSmithKline has confirmed reports that it plans to cut 350 R&D jobs, as part of its restructuring programme which should garner annual savings of up to £700 million by 2010.
News archive 12/06/2008
Daiichi Sankyo takes control of Ranbaxy
Daiichi Sankyo, Japan’s third-largest pharmaceutical company, is to take control of Ranbaxy Laboratories, India’s biggest generic drugs maker, in a cash deal worth up to $4.6bn.
News archive 12/06/2008
Correction to AIDS Story in The Independent, 8 June 2008
We wish to clarify misinterpretations concerning WHO and UNAIDS' positions on the status of the AIDS epidemic in recent media articles.
News archive 12/06/2008
Valeant says hepatitis C drug causes less anemia
Valeant says hepatitis C candidate could replace drug that can cause anemia.
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