AIDS Daily Summary November 9, 1995 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 1995, Information, Inc., Bethesda, MD ************************************************************ "FDA Urged to Approve Bristol-Myers AIDS Drug" "Starting Up From Scratch" "Yes, Silence Can Equal Death" "Glaxo Overhauling R & D to Focus on Commercial Potential" "Canada's Blood System Too Unwieldy, Report Says" "Chiron Receives New York State Permit to Test HIV Viral Load Through Reference Testing Laboratory; Service Now Available Nationwide" "Around the Nation: Kentucky, Nebraska" "Follicular Dendritic Cells and Human Immunodeficiency Virus Infectivity" ************************************************************ "FDA Urged to Approve Bristol-Myers AIDS Drug" Wall Street Journal (11/09/95) P. B6 The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA's) Antiviral Drugs Advisory Committee endorsed on Wednesday Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.'s drug Zerit (stavudine or d4T) for AIDS patients who no longer respond to approved therapies. Zerit is a nucleoside analog, a group of drugs that suppress HIV, as well as a chemical relation to Glaxo Wellcome's AZT. The drug was approved for limited use in 1994 for patients who either could not tolerate or did not benefit from existing treatments. The FDA will probably take final action on Zerit within two to six weeks, according to David Feigal, FDA director of antiviral drugs. Related Story: New York Times (11/09) P. A26 "Starting Up From Scratch" Financial Times (11/09/95) P. 21; Green, Daniel Triangle Pharmaceuticals, a four-month-old company headed by former Burroughs Wellcome staff, is planning to concentrate in anti-viral drugs. Instead of attempting to discover new drugs, however, the fledgling company will work on identifying promising medicines and ushering them through the three major phases of clinical trials. David Barry, chief executive of Triangle, says, "We'll offer a free service to test potential AIDS drugs," with, of course, the first rights to negotiate for acquisition. Barry believes the economics of AIDS drugs is changing so that the number of drugs will increase faster than spending on treatments. "Yes, Silence Can Equal Death" Wall Street Journal (11/09/95) P. A21; Barnes, Mark; Elovitz, Marc E. In two separate letters to the editor of the Wall Street Journal, Mark Barnes and Marc E. Elovitz respond to Helen Mathews Smith's Oct. 25 article "The Deadly Politics of AIDS." According to Barnes, the executive director of the AIDS Action Council, Smith proposes a mandatory HIV testing program yet she omits both the cost of such a project and a plan of how to care for all those who would be tested. In fact, several major medical associations have denounced such testing as too expensive and an overall ineffective method of reaching at-risk individuals. Furthermore, Barnes claims that Smith's final statement that "the nation has a moral duty to care for those who are infected, but the infected also have a responsibility to those with whom they share their lives--and bodies" clearly demonstrates how "out-of-touch" she is with both political reality and the AIDS epidemic in face of the proposed reductions in many AIDS care and prevention programs. Meanwhile, Marc E. Elovitz--the staff counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union AIDS Project--notes that Smith promotes mandatory testing, but neglects to mention that required government HIV-testing sparks fears of discrimination. These fears, which can cause many people to avoid critical health services, are very reasonable, Elovitz concludes. "Glaxo Overhauling R & D to Focus on Commercial Potential" Financial Times (11/09/95) P. 1; Cookson, Clive Glaxo Wellcome announced on Wednesday that it will radically overhaul its research and development program in an effort to increase productivity. The company's goal is to market three financially important medicines per year from 2000, compared to its current average of just one new drug per year. Glaxo has scrapped almost 70 of 160 development projects that did not meet its new standards, reduced staff worldwide, and invested heavily in automation, and it plans to spend more on collaborations with universities and small biotech firms. Long-term research will continue, however, in all the major fields that the company pursued before, including work on treatments aimed at the brain and nervous system, heart disease and stroke, cancer, respiratory disorders, and viral illnesses. "Canada's Blood System Too Unwieldy, Report Says" Toronto Globe and Mail (11/08/95) P. A8 A report obtained by the Canadian Press states that it would take Canada's blood system too long to respond to another fatal virus because the system is confusing, partially unworkable, and no one is clearly accountable. The report--which was prepared for Mr. Justice Horace Krever, the head of an inquiry into Canada's tainted blood scandal of the 1980s--supports the conclusions of a safety audit in 1994 that said the blood system was obstructed by infighting, confusing roles, and no national policy on blood. Other findings include the conclusions that the Laboratory Centre for Disease Control needs greater authority, the mandate of the Canadian Blood Agency is unworkable, and that the processes for improving product safety are not adequate. Additionally, the report criticizes an agreement made earlier this year by the Canadian Red Cross and the Canadian Blood Agency because while it formalizes the relationship, it does not resolve any structural differences between the two agencies. "Chiron Receives New York State Permit to Test HIV Viral Load Through Reference Testing Laboratory; Service Now Available Nationwide" Business Wire (11/08/95) The Chiron Reference Testing Laboratory is currently accepting specimens for HIV viral load testing from physicians across the country, Chiron Corp. said Wednesday. The company most recently received a permit to test specimens from New York state. The laboratory was created in 1994 to offer access to branched DNA technology for viral load testing in HIV-infected patients. "Around the Nation: Kentucky, Nebraska" Advocate (11/14/95) No. 694, P. 20 A waterproofing firm in Kentucky has been sued for fraud by the state attorney general because the company allegedly tried to attract business by telling customers that mildew could cause AIDS. Meanwhile, in other news around the country, the Nebraska state appeals court has ruled that HIV-infected persons cannot be prohibited from becoming foster parents solely on the basis of their medical status. "Follicular Dendritic Cells and Human Immunodeficiency Virus Infectivity" Nature (10/26/95) Vol. 377, No. 6551, P. 740; Heath, Sonya L.; Tew, J. Grant; Tew, John G.; et al. Heath et al. studied an in vitro model of the germinal center to determine whether follicular dendritic cells (FDC)-retained HIV could cause infection. Viral infection is followed by the convergence of large amounts of HIV on FDC in the follicles of secondary lymphoid tissues. The researchers discovered that the HIV on FDC is extremely infectious, and report that FDC can make neutralized HIV infectious even in the presence of enormous amounts of neutralizing antibody. FDC, they conclude, may provide a means for which HIV infection can proceed when in the presence of these antibodies--a finding which may have significant implications in the design of therapeutic and vaccine strategies, whatever the mechanism involved. AIDS Daily News will not publish on Friday, November 10, in observance of the Veterans Day holiday. Publication will resume on Monday, November 13.