
                     AIDS Daily Summary 
                      December 20, 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


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"Agouron's AIDS Drug Races Against Time and Titans"
"The Healing Power of Prayer Is Tested by Science"
"New Drugs Hurt BioChem Shares"
"Krever Given More Time to File Blood-Probe Report"
"About Face: City to Pay for AIDS Housing"
"AIDS Ministry Names Another New Director"
"Sequus Pharmaceuticals Inc. Filed Form 8-K"
"A Preliminary Study of Ritonavir, an Inhibitor of HIV-1 
Protease, to Treat HIV-1 Infection"
"Chronic Diarrhoea in HIV+ Patients: Role of Enterocytozoon 
Bieneusi"
"5 Tips for Running Program That Exchanges Needles"
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"Agouron's AIDS Drug Races Against Time and Titans"
Wall Street Journal (12/20/95) P. B4;  Rundle, Rhonda L.
     Agouron Pharmaceuticals is fourth in the rush to commercialize a 
new class of AIDS drugs called protease inhibitors.  Leader 
Hoffmann-La Roche recently became the first to receive approval 
for a protease inhibitor.  To win a piece of the HIV market, the 
small company must demonstrate that its Viracept compound is 
superior--a task which is difficult because there are fewer 
untreated patients.  Another consideration is that the 
effectiveness of this compound and other protease inhibitors may 
be reduced in patients who have already used other drugs in the 
same family.  Martin Markowitz, one of the physicians 
investigating Viracept at the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center,
comments, "Bottom line is that Agouron has to move quickly before
[second- and third-place drug companies] Merck and Abbott get 
approved."  Agouron expects to launch large-scale trials in early
February, with as many as 1,500 patients enrolled before the 
other companies drugs are approved.  If all goes well, the 
company says it hopes to be selling Viracept by mid-1997.
      
"The Healing Power of Prayer Is Tested by Science"
Wall Street Journal (12/20/95) P. B1;  Pereira, Joseph
     Researchers across the country are trying to determine what 
effect prayer has on healing.  Critics, however, are outraged 
that public funds are being spent on such studies.  Interest in 
prayer was boosted in the mid-1980s, when a study of nearly 400 
coronary patients found that the prayed-for group was much less 
likely to require drugs or develop fluid in the lungs.  One 
current AIDS experiment involves 20 praying people who were asked
to "send intentions" from such cities as New York and Washington,
D.C.  Ten members of that group received intentions, while the 
remaining 10 did not.  The researchers are looking for unusual 
changes in T-cell levels to determine prayer's effect on the 
advanced AIDS patients.  The study is being sponsored by the 
Noetic Sciences Institute in Sausalito, Calif.
      
"New Drugs Hurt BioChem Shares"
Toronto Globe and Mail (12/19/95) P. B13;  Northfield, Stephen
     Within the past few weeks, both Canadian and U.S. health 
authorities have granted approval to 3TC, an AIDS drug discovered
by BioChem Pharma Inc. and co-developed with Glaxo Wellcome, but 
BioChem stock has dropped.  The company says it cannot explain 
the sudden dip in share price, but analysts blame several 
factors, including competing AIDS therapies and the fact that the
share price had already jumped on the promise of approval.  
Reijer Lenstra of Smith Barney Inc. dropped his rating of the 
company to "neutral" after the stock hit a target price of $40.  
Shekhar Basu of Punk Zeigel & Knoell, however, rates BioChem a 
"buy" and advises investors to take advantage of the currently 
low price to load up on the stock.
      
"Krever Given More Time to File Blood-Probe Report"
Toronto Globe and Mail (12/19/95) P. A5
     Canadian Justice Horace Krever has been allotted additional time 
to sift through the enormous amount of evidence given in the 
country's tainted-blood scandal before filing his final report.  
The federal Privy Council Office has given Krever until Sept. 30,
1996 to complete the report, said government spokesman Gerald 
Simoneau.  The report was due by the end of 1995, however 
hearings will not be completed until late this week.  Krever is 
the head of an inquiry which is attempting to determine how more 
than 1,000 Canadians became HIV-infected from the blood supply 
between 1978 and 1985.
      
"About Face: City to Pay for AIDS Housing"
Houston Chronicle (12/19/95) P. 22A;  Robinson, James
     The city of Houston is expected to reverse itself and provide 
about $700,000 for AIDS housing.  The move would basically undo a
decision made by the City Council last November, in which it 
deferred to local opposition and essentially ended the project 
being undertaken by Brentwood Baptist Church.  By providing the 
money, the council would also settle a lawsuit filed by the 
church, which has filed complaints under the federal Fair Housing
Act.  City Attorney Gene Locke said that some of the 
neighborhood's fears--which included increased traffic, drug use,
and the possible HIV infection of children playing nearby--have 
been addressed by changing the housing's location.  Still, Rick 
Holden, president of the Hiram Clarke civic club, maintains that 
neighbors still have not received assurances regarding the 
three-home, 18-person housing, including whether or not drug 
users would be barred from the project.
      
"AIDS Ministry Names Another New Director"
Richmond-Times Dispatch (12/19/95) P. B5
     The Richmond AIDS Ministry (RAM) has tapped Sheila Crowley, 
former head of The Daily Planet, to be its third executive 
director in two years.  According to Claire Forsyth, president of
RAM's board of directors, Crowley possesses "the right management
experience and skills necessary to help guide [us] through our 
next phase."  RAM recently announced that financial problems have
caused it to lay off more than half its employees since last 
spring.
      
"Sequus Pharmaceuticals Inc. Filed Form 8-K"
CDA Investnet (12/19/95)
     The FDA has granted marketing approval for Sequus Pharmaceuticals
Inc.'s Doxil for the treatment of Kaposi's sarcoma in AIDS 
patients for whom conventional combination chemotherapy is 
ineffective or who are intolerant to such therapy.  Furthermore, 
the company has established a Patient Assistance Program to help 
selected AIDS patients who might benefit from treatment with 
Doxil but are unable to obtain the drug because of a lack of 
health insurance.  Sequus has also submitted an application to 
the Committee on Proprietary and Medicinal Products for market 
clearance in Europe and expects to be reviewed in February 1996.
      
"A Preliminary Study of Ritonavir, an Inhibitor of HIV-1 
Protease, to Treat HIV-1 Infection"
New England Journal of Medicine (12/07/95) Vol. 333, No. 23, P. 
1534;  Markowitz, Martin;  Saag, Michael;  Powderly, William G.; 
et al.
     Markowitz et al. conducted a study of the safety and efficacy of 
ritonavir, a potent inhibitor of HIV-1 protease in vitro, in 62 
HIV-1-infected patients.  The 12-week trial consisted of a 
four-week randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blinded stage 
which was followed by an eight-week dose-blinded phase.  Among 
the 52 patients who completed the study, the most frequent side 
effects were diarrhea and nausea; reversible elevations in serum 
triglyceride and (gamma)-glutamyltransferase levels were the most
common laboratory irregularities.  Overall, ritonavir produced 
rapid antiviral effects, with a mean maximal reduction in HIV-1 
RNA copies per milliliter of plasma between 0.86 and 1.18 log in 
the four treatment groups.  This effect was partially maintained 
after treatment, with mean plasma-viremia reduction of 0.5 log, 
though a more sensitive HIV-1 RNA test found a mean 1.7-log 
reduction.  Based on the significant reductions in plasma viremia
as well as substantial increases in CD4 levels, the researchers 
concluded that ritonavir is both well-tolerated and a potent 
antiviral, and that further clinical trials are therefore 
justified.
      
"Chronic Diarrhoea in HIV+ Patients: Role of Enterocytozoon 
Bieneusi"
Journal of the American Medical Association (12/06/95) Vol. 274, 
No. 21, P. 1657
     Bernard et al. studied HIV-infected individuals to determine the 
various characteristics of chronic diarrhea related to the 
disease.  The researchers isolated 34 pathogenic agents in some 
50 percent of the patients.  The most frequently identified 
pathogen was Enterocytozoon bieneusi, which was found in nearly 
one-quarter of the patients, followed closely by Cryptosporidium 
sp.  The patients with microsporidiosis were all observed to be 
in stage C according to the 1993 Centers for Disease Control and 
Prevention classification, and experienced a longer duration of 
diarrhea, greater weight loss, and a lower Karnofsky index.  
Patients without microsporidiosis were more likely to receive 
prophylaxis with dapsone or pyrimethamine in the three months 
prior to inclusion in the study.  The researchers concluded that 
microsporidiosis should be considered as a potential cause of 
chronic diarrhea in HIV-infected individuals with CD4 levels of 
less than 100.
      
"5 Tips for Running Program That Exchanges Needles"
AIDS Alert (12/95) Vol. 10, No. 12, P. 149
     Although it seems unlikely that the federal government will act 
on recommendations to fund needle exchange programs (NEPs), 
individuals can still work for state and local efforts, according
to Prof. Peter Lurie of the Center for AIDS Prevention Studies at
the University of California in San Francisco.  Lurie, an author 
of a critical 1993 report on NEPs, believes there is a compelling
reason for this.  "The feds are playing politics, and people are 
dying," he notes.  For people who want to start an NEP in their 
community, Lurie offers several suggestions on how to get 
started.  He suggests that advocates should first try to obtain 
input and support from all potentially affected areas, including 
businesses, residents, and law enforcement agencies.  "People 
need to be involved from the earliest phase," he explains.  "That
way, they can feel a sense of ownership."  Lurie recommends that 
advocates should also attempt to become exempt from anti-NEP 
laws.  Next, he advises consulting drug users--the target 
audience--to maximize participation.  Furthermore, the emphasis 
of the NEP should be distributing syringes--such extras as drug 
treatment referrals should be considered optional, Lurie claims. 
Finally, one must determine whether community activists or the 
local health department is better equipped to deal with the 
program.  Either way, Lurie notes, it is critical that whoever is
in charge forge a trusting relationship with the drug-using 
community.
      
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