AIDS Daily Summary November 23, 1994 The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) National AIDS Clearinghouse makes available the following information as a public service only. Providing this information does not constitute endorsement by the CDC, the CDC Clearinghouse, or any other organization. Reproduction of this text is encouraged; however, copies may not be sold, and the CDC Clearinghouse should be cited as the source of this information. Copyright 1994, Information, Inc., Bethesda, MD ************************************************************ "AZT Patent Ruling" "Critics Question BioChem Surge" "Judge: Doctor Failed to Aid AIDS Patient" "Liposome Technology's DOX-SL Drug Shown to Be Efficacious in Treating AIDS Patients with Advanced Kaposi's Sarcoma; Liposome Technology Clinical Investigators Present Clinical Trial Data at Glasgow AIDS Meeting" "Genesis House and Mercy Hospital to Hold 'Vigil Mass of Hope' to Highlight World AIDS Day" "Tennis--Chris and Martina to Reunite for 1995 Legends Tour" "Behavioral Science in the AIDS Epidemic" "Efficient Neutralization of Primary Isolates of HIV-1 by a ecombinant Human Monoclonal Antibody" "Red Hot+New" "A Cluster of Tuberculosis among Crack House Contacts in San Mateo County, California" ************************************************************* "AZT Patent Ruling" Wall Street Journal (11/23/94) P. B4 The U.S. Court of Appeals has upheld most of a previous ruling awarding exclusive patents for AZT to Burroughs Wellcome Co. The court ruled that Burroughs was the sole inventor for five out of six patents because it conceived of using the drug on AIDS patients before obtaining the results of early tests. The court opinion stated that the same decision could not be made for the sixth patent without a trial. The patents were challenged by Barr Laboratories Inc. and Novapharm Inc., who argued that tests by the National Institutes of Health were instrumental in AZT's development and promised to charge less for the drug if they won. "Critics Question BioChem Surge" Toronto Globe and Mail (11/23/94) P. B1 Many analysts reacted skeptically to the surge in BioChem Pharm Inc. stock on Tuesday, following the announcement of successful test results for its AIDS drug 3TC. Yorkton Securities Inc. issued a report stating, "Popular press overreacts," and pointing out that three other AIDS drugs for use with AZT have already been approved. 3TC is still undergoing testing in North America and has not yet received regulatory approval for the treatment of AIDS. Martin Sherwood, a spokesman for Wellcome PLC, which has a non-binding deal with Glaxo for development and marketing rights to 3TC, said that Wellcome has patent claims for the drug's HIV and hepatitis B applications "Judge: Doctor Failed to Aid AIDS Patient" Chicago Tribune (11/22/94) P. 1-4 A U.S. District Judge has ruled that a doctor violated the Americans With Disabilities Act when he refused to treat a man at a hospital because he had AIDS. Fred Charon went to Memorial Hospital in Fremont, Ohio, in April 1992 because of a fever and other symptoms, but was refused admittance and taken 45 miles away to a Toledo hospital. A spokesman for the hospital says the ruling will be appealed. "Liposome Technology's DOX-SL Drug Shown to Be Efficacious in Treating AIDS Patients with Advanced Kaposi's Sarcoma; Liposome Technology Clinical Investigators Present Clinical Trial Data at Glasgow AIDS Meeting" Business Wire (11/22/94) Data presented at the Second International Congress on Drug Therapy in HIV Infection in Glasgow, Scotland, show that Liposome Technology's DOX-SL is a safe and effective therapy for patients with advanced AIDS-related Kaposi's sarcoma (KS). DOX-SL is a long-circulating STEALTH liposome formulation of the anticancer agent doxorubicin hydrochloride. Clinical data from a Phase II study of DOX-SL found that, at time of best response, 6.3 percent of patients had a complete response to DOX-SL therapy, 74.4 percent had a partial response, 18.5 percent had stable disease, and 0.8 percent had disease progression. When presenting the data, Dr. Simon Stewart of St. Mary's Hospital in London concluded that DOX-SL appears to be effective palliative therapy for patients with HIV-related KS. He also said that the drug is probably more effective and less toxic than Adria Laboratories' single agent Adriamycin and other anthracycline chemotherapy agents. "Genesis House and Mercy Hospital to Hold 'Vigil Mass of Hope' to Highlight World AIDS Day" PR Newswire (11/21/94) A Vigil Mass of Hope, sponsored by Genesis House of the Archdiocese of Miami and Mercy Hospital, in conjunction with the South Florida World AIDS Day Coalition, will be held Nov. 30 to emphasize World AIDS Day on Dec. 1. The Mass will be led by Archbishop Edward A. McCarthy with Monsignor Bryan O. Walsh of Catholic Community Services; Father Dan Dorrity, director of pastoral care at Genesis House; and additional clergy from the Archdiocese of Miami. Those who attend the Mass will hear Sister Elizabeth Anne Worley, Chairman of the Board of Trustees at Mercy Hospital, speak about the effects of HIV on the church and on healthcare institutions. "Tennis--Chris and Martina to Reunite for 1995 Legends Tour" Reuters (11/21/94) Retired tennis stars Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova will take part in the women's Legends Tour next year, announced tour sponsor Virginia Slims on Monday. The two will resume their legendary rivalry as they face off in a singles shoot-out competition each of the six weekends of the tour. Players who have already signed up for the tour include Billie Jean King, Evonne Goolagong, Hana Mandlikova, and Tracy Austin. Partial proceeds from the tour will benefit the National AIDS Fund in each community where the tour stops "Behavioral Science in the AIDS Epidemic" Lancet (11/12/94) Vol 344, No. 8933, P. 1312; Watters, John K. There is growing evidence that public health measures, such as outreach programs for intravenous drug users and increased access to sterile needles, have reduced the frequency of behaviors known to transmit bloodborne diseases--including HIV, writes John K. Watters of the Institute for Health Policy Studies. Despite such successes, behavioral science is frequently regarded with skepticism by practitioners of biomedical science. Behavioral science provides practical alternatives to actual experimentation. According to Watters, the National Institutes of Health should, when restructuring its reviews of all grant applications, maintain a core of representation in areas including intervention, as well as ethnographic, epidemiological, and demonstration research. Thus, behavioral research would be protected in the short term. In the long term future, behavioral research will necessitate significant federal funding for graduate training programs, support for innovative research within the "new" NIH, and help from biomedical journals in disseminating the results. "Efficient Neutralization of Primary Isolates of HIV-1 by a Recombinant Human Monoclonal Antibody" Science (11/11/94) Vol. 266, No. 5187, P. 1024; Burton, Dennis R.; Pyati, Jayashree; Koduri, Raju et al The inability of antibodies designed to neutralize primary isolates of HIV-1 has impeded the development of an HIV-1 vaccine. Burton et al created a recombinant human antibody to envelope glycoprotein gp120. It was used to demonstrate that primary isolates are not refractory to antibody neutralization. The recombinant human antibody neutralized over 75 percent of the primary isolates tested at concentrations that could be achieved by passive immunization. The broad specificity and efficacy of the antibody indicates the conservation of a structural feature on gp120, which could be significant in the development of a vaccine. "Red Hot+New" Advocate (11/01/94) No. 667, P. 76; Walters, Barry Two new benefit albums will raise funds for AIDS education and relief. "Red Hot+Country" is a collection in which country music stars sing songs or adopt styles that influenced their musical growth. The albums includes Kathy Mattea, Dolly Parton, and Mary Chapin Carpenter. The second album, "Stolen Moments," crosses rappers with legends of jazz with pairs such as Me'shell Ndege-Ocello and Herbie Hancock. Michael Franti, formerly of the Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy, contributes the song "Positivity," which deals with the fears and frustrations of a man who is waiting for the results of his HIV test. "A Cluster of Tuberculosis among Crack House Contacts in San Mateo County, California" American Journal of Public Health (11/94) Vol. 84, No. 11, P. 1834; Leonhardt, Kathryn Kraft; Gentile, Felicia; Gilbert, Bradley P. et al A total of 89 people were diagnosed with tuberculosis (TB) in San Mateo, Calif., in March 1992. Fifteen percent, including 11 children, had active pulmonary TB. The contacts all either lived in or visited one of two crack cocaine houses. The index case, whose transient residence of several dwellings contributed to the spread of the disease, was an HIV-infected male. Public health workers used innovative methods, such as a mobile health van for TB screening, to help control the outbreak. The outbreak might have been prevented if current recommendations for TB prevention in HIV-1 patients had been followed. Continued special effort is necessary to control the disease. HOLIDAY NOTICE: The AIDS Daily Summary will not publish on November 24-25 in observance of the Thanksgiving holidays. Publication will resume on Monday, November 28.