                     AIDS Daily Summary 
                      November 8, 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 Committee Urges Approval of First AIDS Drug in New Class"
"FDA Graded Highly On Relative Speed of Review Process"
"HIV Scholarship"
"Britain Sends Faulty Condoms to Zimbabwe"
"SEQUUS Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Announces Third Quarter Results"
"Suit Alleges Minn. Mutual AIDS Bias"
"Health Bodies Urge Backing for Early Warning Procedures"
"HIV Risk Practices of Male Injecting-Drug Users Who Have Sex 
with Men--Dallas, Denver, and Long Beach, 1991-1994"
"World AIDS Day Resource Booklet, Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, November 8, 1995"
************************************************************

"FDA Committee Urges Approval of First AIDS Drug in New Class"
Washington Post (11/08/95) P. A2;  Schwartz, John
      A U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advisory committee 
called on Tuesday for the rapid approval of saquinavir, the first
of a new class of AIDS drugs called protease inhibitors.  In a 
six to one vote, the panel voted to recommend that saquinavir, 
which will be sold under the trade name Invirase, be approved for
use in conjunction with nucleoside analogs.  However, the panel 
also unanimously rejected a request by the drug's manufacturer, 
F. Hoffmann La Roche & Co. of Nutley, N.J., to recommend 
saquinavir's approval for use as a single-drug treatment in 
people with AIDS for whom nucleoside analogs are not an option.  
FDA Commissioner David A. Kessler said Tuesday "that as a 
class...[he believes protease inhibitors] are the most active 
agents we have seen to date," though he described saquinavir as 
"inferior" to other potential products.  Related Stories: Wall 
Street Journal (11/08) P. B13; New York Times (11/08) P. A20; 
Washington Times (11/08) P. A3; USA Today (11/08) P. 1D; 
Philadelphia Inquirer (11/08) P. A3
       
"FDA Graded Highly On Relative Speed of Review Process"
Washington Post (11/08/95) P. A15;  Schwartz, John
      A report just released by the General Accounting Office concludes
that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is actually 
comparable in the quickness of its review process to its U.K. 
counterpart.  This first independent assessment of the FDA found 
that the agency cut its time to review new drugs by 40 percent 
between 1987 and 1992 from an average of 33 months to 19 and has 
improved even more since.  The assessment comes at a time when at
least three FDA reform proposals are in the works and the agency 
is under attack for allegedly being too restrictive and 
overzealous in protecting the public by delaying or rejecting 
lifesaving drugs.  Gerald J. Mossinghoff, president of the 
Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America claims the 
new report is "misleading" and does not take into account "total 
development time."  Related Story: Washington Times (11/08) P. B7
       
"HIV Scholarship"
Washington Times (11/08/95) P. A2
      Twenty-year-old University of Colorado student Luke Gold has 
created the Positive Future Fund, a scholarship for HIV-infected 
students.  Gold says he was inspired by a story in his campus 
newspaper about a student who tested HIV-positive, and said he 
hopes that the fund will help alleviate some of the stigma that 
infected persons experience.  "I want to change the misconception
people have about living with HIV," he explained.  The first 
benefit for the scholarship was held last week, and though Gold 
is still tallying the proceeds, he notes that he is looking for 
large donors and foundations to match what has already been 
raised.
       
"Britain Sends Faulty Condoms to Zimbabwe"
Reuters (11/08/95)
      A report by Britain's National Audit Office has revealed that the
country sent 24 million condoms to Zimbabwe and then spent 
100,000 pounds ($157,000) for disposing of them and replacing 
them when laboratory tests found the condoms to be faulty.  
Britain's Overseas Development Administration ordered the 
prophylactics, which were manufactured by Malaysia's Dongkuk 
Techno Industries, and then had to ensure that the condoms were 
destroyed, for fear that they might be marketed illegally.  
"Zimbabwe was left severely short of condoms," an audit office 
spokesman said, because the replacements were delayed.
       
"SEQUUS Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Announces Third Quarter Results"
Business Wire (11/07/95)
      SEQUUS Pharmaceuticals, based in Menlo Park, Calif., announced on
Tuesday a third quarter loss of $7,953,000, versus a net loss of 
$6,655,000 in the third quarter of the previous year.  The net 
loss for the first nine months of 1995 was $23,872,000, compared 
to $22,013,000 for the same period in 1994.  The rise in 
third-quarter net loss was attributed to  preparation for the 
expected release of the company's DOXIL Injection product upon 
receipt of marketing approval from the U.S. Food and Drug 
Administration.  Meanwhile, the increase in net loss for the 
nine-month period is also related to the launch preparation but 
is offset by a reduction in costs for clinical trials of DOXIL in
AIDS patients with Kaposi's sarcoma.
       
"Suit Alleges Minn. Mutual AIDS Bias"
National Underwriter (Life/Health) (10/30/95) Vol. 99, No. 44, P.
3;  West, Diane
      Mark LaBonte, a California man, has filed a $1 million lawsuit 
against Minnesota Mutual Life Insurance Co. of St. Paul, Minn., 
claiming the insurer refused to issue him a life insurance policy
based on the fact that his live-in partner has AIDS.  Paul 
Wotman, LaBonte's San Francisco-based attorney, reports that 
Minnesota Mutual denied his client coverage even though he tested
HIV-negative.  The suit charges that the insurer's actions 
violate both state law and the Americans With Disabilities Act.  
Additionally, Wotman alleges that Minnesota Mutual reported its 
findings to the Medical Information Bureau, a national database 
of medical records which insurers often use to determine 
underwriting risk.
       
"Health Bodies Urge Backing for Early Warning Procedures"
Nature (10/26/95) Vol. 377, No. 6551, P. 668;  Appel, Adrianne;  
Masood, Ehsan
      The World Health Organization (WHO) and the Centers for Disease 
Control and Prevention (CDC) have requested additional funds to 
finance both joint and separate efforts to identify, control, and
ultimately eliminate emerging infectious diseases.  The WHO's 190
member states have been asked for $5.5 million of the $7-million 
global early warning system, which could include a network of 
rapid response units to place experts at any world disease 
location within 24 hours of an outbreak.  The CDC, meanwhile, has
called upon the U.S. Senate support an increase in its budget to 
equal the $125 million annual operating costs once the results of
its report, "Addressing Emerging Infectious Disease Threats: A 
Prevention Strategy for the United States," are in place in an 
estimated seven years.  The CDC's program is akin to the WHO's in
many ways, though it is limited to the United States.  But the 
similarity between the CDC and the WHO projects is not 
coincidental.  The U.S. government contributes 25 percent of the 
WHO's budget, a contribution which is now threatened by proposed 
Senate cuts.  The WHO therefore would like to see the CDC receive
more funds because the move would imply a positive vote not only 
for the CDC project, but for the WHO as well.
       
"HIV Risk Practices of Male Injecting-Drug Users Who Have Sex 
with Men--Dallas, Denver, and Long Beach, 1991-1994"
Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (10/20/95) Vol. 44, No. 41,
P. 767;  Wolitski, R.J.;  Corby, N.;  Wood, J.; et al.
      As part of the AIDS Community Demonstration Projects, which are 
sponsored by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, data
on male intravenous drug users (IDUs) who have sex with men (MSM)
were collected in Dallas, Denver, and Long Beach, Calif., from 
1991 to 1994.  In the survey, trained interviewers approached 
likely respondents on the street to conduct a screening interview
concerning HIV risk activity.  At-risk individuals then completed
a second interview about perceived risk for HIV infection, 
drug-injection practices, and sexual behavior.  Of the nearly 
1700 men who completed the second interview, 297, or 18 percent, 
claimed to have had one or more male sexual partners in the 
previous 30 days.  In addition, 75 percent of the MSM IDUs 
reported having traded sex for money or drugs during that same 
time.  A total of 95 percent of the MSM IDUs said they had 
engaged in anal intercourse at some point.  Meanwhile, 250 of 292
MSM IDUs claimed to have shared syringes or other drug-related 
equipment in the past 60 days, and just 73 of 248 said that the 
last time they shared drug paraphernalia they used bleach to 
sterilize the needle or syringe.
       
World AIDS Day Resource Booklet, Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, November 8, 1995
      World AIDS Day, observed annually on December 1st, is an organized
effort designed to provide education and awareness of issues
surrounding HIV/AIDS worldwide. It encourages public support for
and development of programs to prevent the spread of HIV infection.
The 1995 theme, "Shared Rights, Shared Responsibilities,"
highlights the importance of equality and solidarity in the global
response to AIDS. World AIDS Day is coordinated by the World Health
Organization Global Programme on AIDS, the Pan American Health
Organization, the American Association for World Health, the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services, and the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention. World AIDS Day Resource Booklet. 
Prepared by the American Association for World Health (1-202-466-5883), this
booklet provides facts and suggestions to help in planning for World AIDS
Day 1995. The file is located at the CDC National AIDS
Clearinghouse World Wide Web home page,
http://cdcnac.aspensys.com:86/aidsinfo.html.  The file you will be
retrieving is a .PDF file. This file format contains hypertext
links and is viewable only with the Adobe (TM) Acrobat (TM) Reader
which can be downloaded for free from Adobe Systems Incorporated.

