AIDS Weekly articles from March 2002

AIDS Weekly archives from March 2002

Cytotoxic T-cell activity crucial for persistently uninfected women.(Brief Article)
March 4, 2002... 2002 MAR 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Cytotoxic T-lymphocyte activity protects women who remain uninfected with HIV despite extensive exposure, a finding that may be useful for vaccine development,...

Multiantigen vaccine with recombinant gp160 effective in newly infected patients.(Brief Article)
March 4, 2002... 2002 MAR 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Researchers say that a multiantigen HIV vaccine, administered with recombinant gp160, can improve antiviral immune responses in acutely infected patients. ...

Substance P may aid viral replication.(Brief Article)
March 4, 2002... 2002 MAR 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - The neuropeptide known as substance P appears to improve HIV replication in some cells, according to researchers in the United States. "Substance P (SP) is...

Antiretroviral therapy lowers coagulation-related activity.(Brief Article)
March 4, 2002... 2002 MAR 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Antiretroviral therapy reduces levels of vascular activation markers in HIV patients, researchers in Switzerland report. Dr. Katja Wolf and colleagues at...

Hydroxyurea effective against infected dendritic cells.(Brief Article)
March 4, 2002... 2002 MAR 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Hydroxyurea can be used in combination with other HIV drugs to help clear out viral resevoirs, according to researchers in Italy and the United States. ...

Monocytes can act as viral reservoir in HAART patients.(highly active antiretroviral therapy)(Brief Article)
March 4, 2002... 2002 MAR 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - HIV can infect monocytes in patients treated with highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), researchers in the United States report. "In vitro studies...

Interleukin-2 useful for treating those coinfected with HIV, hepatitis C.(Brief Article)
March 4, 2002... 2002 MAR 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - There have been some reports that coinfection with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) worsens liver disease in patients infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV)....

New one-tablet, once-daily formulation of Sustiva approved.(Brief Article)
March 4, 2002... 2002 MAR 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY) announced the approval in the U.S. of a new one-tablet 600 mg formulation of its widely used once-daily anti-HIV drug Sustiva (efavirenz). Sustiva is a once-daily...

Vietnam plans to produce cheap AIDS drugs.(Brief Article)
March 4, 2002... 2002 MAR 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Vietnam plans to produce cheap copies of internationally patented drugs for treatment of its growing number of AIDS patients, a government official has announced. The official of the Anti-AIDS...

Berna Biotech teams with IAVI, Gallo lab, Uganda for test.(Brief Article)
March 4, 2002... 2002 MAR 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Swiss vaccine manufacturer Berna Biotech, Ltd., has joined a cross-national team to test a new vaccine to prevent HIV infection and AIDS designed specifically for use in developing countries. Berna...

Epimmune provides HIV vaccine program update.(Brief Article)
March 4, 2002... 2002 MAR 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Epimmune Inc., (EPMN) provided an update on the status of its initial HIV vaccine candidate including clinical trial plans. The company stated that, as additional time is necessary to complete all...

GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals announces start of human trial of novel HIV vaccine.(Brief Article)
March 4, 2002... 2002 MAR 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals (GSK Biologicals) announces the start of the first trial in humans of its recombinant, adjuvanted candidate HIV vaccine - NefTat and gp 120 formulated with the proprietary...

Neomycin B-arganine conjugate shows promise.(Brief Article)
March 4, 2002... 2002 MAR 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Researchers in Israel say that a neomycin B-hexaarginine conjugate (NeoR) appears to be a potent inhibitor of HIV infection and replication. "HIV-1...

Regulatory affairs, QA personnel hired.(Brief Article)
March 4, 2002... 2002 MAR 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- VaxGen, Inc., (VXGN) announced the hiring of two professionals with distinguished track records to help the company submit its AIDS vaccine for regulatory approval if the vaccine, AIDSVAX, proves...

Lack of health workers imperils Africa's gains, UN agency warns.(Brief Article)
March 4, 2002... 2002 MAR 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- An emerging "crisis of health manpower" in Africa threatens to derail the continent's progress, according to experts attending a United Nations-sponsored meeting that concluded recently in Addis Ababa,...

Efforts to prevent perinatal HIV transmission in Michigan highly successful.(Brief Article)
March 4, 2002... 2002 MAR 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Efforts to prevent perinatal HIV transmission in Michigan have been highly successful, with the percentage of children perinatally infected with HIV decreasing significantly from 19% (15) of children...

Gates, Bono call on leaders at World Economic Forum to increase health spending.(Bill Gates, pop star Bono of U2)(Brief Article)
March 4, 2002... 2002 MAR 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Addressing leaders at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in his capacity as cofounder of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Bill Gates, joined by pop star Bono of U2, called on government, industry and...

GlaxoSmithKline starts human clinical trial of HIV vaccine.(Brief Article)
March 4, 2002... 2002 MAR 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals (GSK Biologicals) has started the first trial in humans of its recombinant, adjuvanted candidate HIV vaccine - NefTat and gp 120 formulated with the proprietary adjuvant...

Phase II trial of KRX-101 initiated.(Brief Article)
March 4, 2002... 2002 MAR 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Keryx Biopharmaceuticals, Inc., (KERX; AIM: KRX) announced that it has received approval from the South African Medicines Control Council for the initiation of a Phase II clinical trial of Keryx's...

Smallpox vaccinations may pose health risk for people with HIV.(Brief Article)
March 4, 2002... 2002 MAR 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Recent news and government reports have raised the possibility that the smallpox virus, which was virtually eradicated as a public health threat more than 25 years ago, could in the future be used as a...

CEOs call for freater corporate engagement against HIV/AIDS, TB, malaria.(Brief Article)
March 4, 2002... 2002 MAR 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The member companies of the World Economic Forum's Global Health Initiative (GHI) joined with global health leaders and issued a call to the business leaders of the world to increase their efforts in...

FAO conference hears that AIDS compounds hunger problems in Africa.(Brief Article)
March 4, 2002... 2002 MAR 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- AIDS can no longer be considered a health problem alone; it affects people's incomes and their access to food, according to a speaker at a recent Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) conference held...

HIV Nef protein protects infected cells from apoptosis.
March 11, 2002... 2002 MAR 11 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - The HIV Nef protein helps to prolong the lives of infected cells, researchers in Australia report. "The nef gene product of human immunodeficiency virus...

Novel oligonucleotide shows promise as treatment.
March 11, 2002... 2002 MAR 11 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - A novel oligonucleotide may represent a new therapeutic option against HIV infection, researchers in Japan say. Jun-ichiro Suzuki and colleagues at the...

Rising papillomavirus-related oral warts rate may be positive sign.
March 11, 2002... 2002 MAR 11 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - The incidence of oral warts is rising in HIV infected patients although this may actually be a positive sign, according to researchers in the United States....

Protein sorting factor possible target for Ebola, HIV treatment.
March 11, 2002... 2002 MAR 11 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Researchers in the United States have identified a possible target for therapy against both HIV and Ebola virus infection. "Retroviral Gag proteins encode...

Pneumococcal vaccine boosters less effective for HIV patients.
March 11, 2002... 2002 MAR 11 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Booster doses of a commonly used vaccine against pneumococcal infections are markedly less effective in patients infected with HIV, researchers in the United...

Morbidity risk after gynecological surgery higher for HIV positive women.
March 11, 2002... 2002 MAR 11 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Women infected with HIV are more likely to suffer complications after obstetric or gynecologic surgery, researchers in Germany warn. "Clinical...

GenVec, Inc., signs $10 million contract with NIAID.(National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases)
March 11, 2002... 2002 MAR 11 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- GenVec, Inc., (GNVC) has signed a contract with the Vaccine Research Center at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) of the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) under...

Genentech manufacturing head named to similar post.(James P. Panek becomes senior vice president of manufacturing operations for VaxGen Inc.)
March 11, 2002... 2002 MAR 11 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- VaxGen, Inc., (VXGN) has appointed James P. Panek senior vice president of manufacturing operations. He will oversee development of the company's manufacturing program, including the evaluation of...

Texan infected with HIV from donor.(contaminated blood transfusion)
March 11, 2002... 2002 MAR 11 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A Texas ranch hand undergoing surgery was infected with the AIDS virus in what is believed to be the first U.S. case of the virus being transmitted through donated blood since rigorous new HIV...

HIV/AIDS impact on education intensifies economic downfall.
March 11, 2002... 2002 MAR 11 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The economic decline caused by the HIV/AIDS epidemic in one of Africa's hardest hit sub-Saharan countries, Mozambique, may translate into even more dramatic losses as the disease takes a toll on...

Hong Kong reports increase in HIV cases.
March 11, 2002... 2002 MAR 11 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- There were 213 new cases of HIV infection reported in Hong Kong last year, raising the total number of people infected to 1755, health officials there say. Heterosexual contact accounted for 124...

Illlinois officials worried about AIDS despite drop in cases.
March 11, 2002... 2002 MAR 11 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The number of reported AIDS cases in Illinois dropped last year for the first time in three years and to the lowest level in more than a decade, the state's Health Department has announced. In...

New ethics guidelines announced for HIV patients.(fertility treatments for HIV infected parents)
March 11, 2002... 2002 MAR 11 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Fertility specialists shouldn't dismiss the idea of helping some HIV infected parents have children, new ethics guidelines say. The standards issued February 13, 2002 by the American Society for...

Achillion inks agreement to evaluate next-generation antihepatitis and HIV agents.(Achillion Pharmaceuticals and ViroLogic Inc. form agreement)
March 11, 2002... 2002 MAR 11 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- ViroLogic, Inc., (VLGC) has inked an agreement with Achillion Pharmaceuticals, a privately held pharmaceutical company, to use ViroLogic's drug-resistance assays to evaluate Achillion's lead product...

Bush to pledge $200 million for global AIDS fund.
March 11, 2002... 2002 MAR 11 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- President George W. Bush will include a $200 million contribution to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria in his new budget proposal, the administration has announced. The money...

South Africa's Mbeki pledges to step up fight against AIDS.
March 11, 2002... 2002 MAR 11 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- President Thabo Mbeki has committed South Africa's government to an intensified fight against the rampant AIDS epidemic, but dashed hopes that AIDS drugs would be made available countrywide in state...

World Bank gives African countries $500 million for AIDS fight.
March 11, 2002... 2002 MAR 11 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- African countries will get an additional $500 million to combat AIDS under a newly approved World Bank loan. The decision by the 183-nation lending institution's board of directors brings lending...

Immune cell counts have little effect on hepatitis C diversity.(Brief Article)
March 25, 2002... 1902 MAR 25 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Immune cell levels have only a limited effect on the genetic features of hepatitis C virus (HCV) populations in HIV patients, according to researchers in...

Routine free or low-cost HIV/AIDS testing could stem rising rates of infection.(Brief Article)
March 25, 2002... 1902 MAR 25 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The failure of educational programs to stem the rates of HIV/AIDS infection may be overturned by new policies on testing, said a Central Michigan University health sciences professor who is calling for...

Adoptive immunotherapy effective in animals.(Brief Article)
March 25, 2002... 1902 MAR 25 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Reinfusion of HIV-naive immune cells after infection may enable long-term disease control, researchers report. Dr. Francois Villinger and colleagues at...

Combination genetic therapy effective, feasible with SV40 vectors.(Brief Article)
March 25, 2002... 1902 MAR 25 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Genetic therapy for HIV targeting multiple viral functions may be an effective treatment modality, researchers in the United States argue. "Compared with...

Truncated cytoplasmic viral domains expose critical binding domains.(Brief Article)
March 25, 2002... 1902 MAR 25 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Researchers in the United States have shown that a novel HIV mutation may be useful in the search for an HIV vaccine. Terri G. Edwards and colleagues at...

Hepatitis B and HIV coinfection warrants careful monitoring.(Brief Article)
March 25, 2002... 1902 MAR 25 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - Medical researchers have cautioned that the advent of better antiretroviral medications not only has extended survival in patients infected with human...

AIDS Healthcare Foundation says to GlaxoSmithKline: do the right thing.(Brief Article)
March 25, 2002... 1902 MAR 25 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- In conjunction with the expected release of GlaxoSmithKline's 2001 full year fiscal results on February 14, California Congresswoman Diane Watson (D-CA) and AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), the...

Former rival AIDS researchers conduct vaccine trials.(Brief Article)
March 25, 2002... 1902 MAR 25 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Two former competitors have joined forces to raise money for research and trials of five potential AIDS vaccines. Drs. Luc Montagnier and Robert Gallo announced February 13, 2002, that Montagnier...

Antiretroviral-induced immune recovery can increase Epstein-Barr risk.(Brief Article)
March 25, 2002... 1902 MAR 25 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Partially effective antiretroviral treatment for HIV can increase the risk of complications linked to Epstein-Barr virus infection, researchers in Italy...

Antiretroviral therapy can be deferred in stable patients.(Brief Article)
March 25, 2002... 1902 MAR 25 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - HIV patients with tuberculosis should defer powerful antiretroviral treatments until the last stages of tuberculosis therapy if possible, researchers in the...

Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center enters drug discovery research collaboration.(Brief Article)
March 25, 2002... 1902 MAR 25 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Ciphergen Biosystems, Inc., (CIPH) has signed a research and license agreement with the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center (ADARC). This agreement contains detailed plans to pursue projects related...

Government launches trial of gel to protect women against HIV.(Brief Article)
March 25, 2002... 1902 MAR 25 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The British government, working with agencies in five African countries, have launched a 5-year program to find an effective gel to protect women against HIV infection. International Development...

Nearly 1 million in Russia infected with HIV.(Brief Article)
March 25, 2002... 1902 MAR 25 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Nearly a million Russians are likely infected with HIV, the Health Ministry's official in charge of AIDS prevention reports, and the climbing infection rate could aggravate the country's demographic...

Success of treatment swells ranks of HIV infected.(Brief Article)
March 25, 2002... 1902 MAR 25 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Doctors have been so successful in saving the lives of people with AIDS that the number of Americans with HIV is actually increasing again after holding steady for years and is now approaching 1...

Company announces 4Q, year-end 2001 financial results.(Brief Article)
March 25, 2002... 1902 MAR 25 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Vical, Inc., (VICL) announced that financial results for the fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2001, were consistent with the company's latest forecast, during a period highlighted by...

CytRx s receives $1M milestone payment from Merck for TranzFect license.(Brief Article)
March 25, 2002... 1902 MAR 25 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- CytRx Corp. (CYTR) announced that it has received a $1 million milestone payment due from Merck & Co., Inc., pursuant to Merck's license of CytRx's TranzFect technology. CytRx's TranzFect...

TranzFect technology enters phase I clinical trials.(Brief Article)
March 25, 2002... 1902 MAR 25 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- CytRx Corp. (CYTR) announced that its TranzFect technology is incorporated in an experimental DNA-based HIV vaccine being developed by Merck & Co., Inc., (MRK) that has now entered phase I clinical...

South African province challenges government on AIDS.(Brief Article)
March 25, 2002... 1902 MAR 25 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Challenging the government's AIDS policy, South Africa's wealthiest province will make available a key drug which could drastically reduce the number of babies born with HIV, a top official has...