"This is why it is absolutely appropriate for the
United Nations to devote a large part of its Global Aids Fund to basic public health measures to control these infections," writes Sonnabend.
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Tenofovir gets Euro approval
The new anti-HIV drug tenofovir has now been licensed in the European
Union, following licensing in the US last month. Tenofovir will be sold
by its manufacturers Gilead under the brand name Viread. The European
authorities recommended its licensing for general use on 18 October. Tenofovir
works against most HIV that has become resistant to the nucleoside drugs
like AZT, d4T, ddI, 3TC and so on.
Our drug's as good as yours
A Spanish study appears to show that a combination of the two protease
inhibitors (PIs) saquinavir and ritonavir ('Rit/Saq') is as effective
at combating PI resistance as saquinavir's rival Kaletra (which combines
lopinavir and ritonavir). The Fortogene study gave Rit/Saq to 102 patients
who had failed another PI-based regime. After six months, 60 per cent
had undetectable HIV (under 50 copies). Rit/Saq involves taking six capsule
twice a day. But Andrew Hill of saquinavir manufacturers Roche said:
"These results show that a good safety profile is more important than pill count." Roche's competitors Abbott make Kaletra.
