                     AIDS Daily Summary 
                        May 13, 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


"AIDS Coordinator"
Associated Press (05/13/94);  Recer, Paul
     The AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT-UP) and the National 
Association of People with AIDS are asking for the resignation of
the White House's AIDS policy coordinator, but Kristine Gebbie 
says she has no intentions of relinquishing her position.  "I'm 
not leaving," she stated.  "I've got work to do."  And she says 
she has President Clinton's support to do it.  John Gurrola, a 
spokesman for Gebbie, was surprised by the campaign for the AIDS 
czar's resignation.  He released a letter sent to Gebbie on April
29 that was signed by 10 national AIDS organizations, who praised
her for "beginning a comprehensive HIV-AIDS planning process at 
the federal level."  William J. Freeman, executive director of 
the National Association of People with AIDS, said his group 
supported Gebbie and worked hard with her for the past nine 
months.  "But now we believe she is incapable of marshaling the 
support at the federal level," he explained.  ACT-UP, which did 
not sign the April 29 correspondence, has opposed Gebbie since 
she assumed her position last August, according to Wayne Turner 
and Steve Michael, both of ACT-UP.  The federal AIDS 
coordinator's job has "no power," and Gebbie "doesn't have the 
personality to make it something," Turner said.
      
"Genelabs Reports Development Progress for AIDS Drug GLQ223 at 
Annual Shareholders' Meeting"
Business Wire (05/12/94)
     Genelabs Technologies Inc., a worldwide biopharmaceutical and 
diagnostic company, has completed an analysis of data from a 
Phase II clinical trial of GLQ223, or alpha-trichosanthin, for 
treatment of patients with AIDS or AIDS Related Complex (ARC).  
The report says that previously reported findings, which were 
based on a primary endpoint that depended heavily on decreases in
CD4 positive lymphocytes, were subjected to interference by the 
use of steroids that were prescribed to control the side effects 
of GLQ223.  "Steroids are known to cause temporary drops in 
lymphocyte counts," explains Dr. Kenneth J. Gorelick, vice 
president of medical and regulatory affairs at Genelabs.  "When 
steroid use is taken into account in the statistical analysis, 
GLQ223 shows encouraging evidence of drug activity in this study 
population."  The company is informing the Food and Drug 
Administration of the findings, and will submit the complete 
study analysis to a peer-reviewed journal for publication.  "We 
believe the results demonstrate that GLQ223 merits further 
evaluation to confirm these findings," says Irene Chow, Ph.D., 
president of the Genelabs biopharmaceutical division.
      
"HemaCare Reports First-Quarter Results; Awaits Phase III 
Clinical Trial Approval on Experimental HIV/AIDS Treatment; 
Commences Stem Cell Rescue Program"
Business Wire (05/12/94)
     Although HemaCare Corp.'s core blood products and service 
operations saw a profit in the first quarter of the year, the 
company's expenses associated with research and development of 
Immupath--its experimental treatment for AIDS--produced a loss.  
Immupath is a biopharmaceutical which borrows from  the principle
of passive hyperimmune therapy.  HemaCare collects human plasma, 
rich in numerous anti-HIV antibodies, and infuses it into AIDS 
patients who can no longer produce enough antibodies to fight off
the virus.  Since 1990, HemaCare has been involved in a Phase 
I/II clinical trial to establish the safety and efficacy of the 
product.  Results of that study showed that Immupath improved 
immune competence as measured by CD4 cell counts, and improved 
survival among certain patient groups.  The company is currently 
awaiting approval from the Food and Drug Administration to 
conduct a Phase III clinical trial involving about 600 patients 
to determine long-term efficacy and safety of Immupath.
      
"Baxter Receives FDA License to Market Solvent/Detergent-Treated 
Gammagard S/D"
Business Wire (05/12/94)
     Baxter Healthcare Corp. of Glendale, Calif., says the U.S. Food 
and Drug Administration has licensed its Hyland division to 
market solvent/detergent-treated Gammagard S/D, Immune Globulin 
Intravenous, in the United States.  Better known as "IGIV," the 
product is generally used to treat patients with life-threatening
immune disorders, including HIV.  In vitro studies suggest that 
the solvent-detergent purification process inactivated 
lipid-enveloped RNA viruses such as HIV types 1 and 2, Sindbis 
virus, and vesicular stomatitis virus.  This viral inactivation 
procedure is used in conjunction with other plasma-derived 
products, and there have been no reports of HIV or hepatitis 
transmission in conjunction with the use of this product over a 
seven-year period.
      
"Bill for AIDS "Manhattan Project" to Be Introduced"
Reuters (05/10/94);  Michael, Christopher
     The AIDS Cure Act, legislation that would authorize a "Manhattan 
Project" for AIDS research, is finally being introduced in 
Congress.  "It's time to put a stop to the business-as-usual 
attitude toward finding a cure for AIDS," says Rep. Jerrold 
Nadler, who is pushing the measure.  "The goal of the AIDS Cure 
Project is to recreate" the Manhattan Project, in which 
scientists collaborated in an intense, concerted effort during 
World War II to develop the atom bomb.  As a campaign promise, 
President Clinton had vowed to authorize such a program.  "My 
bill is an effort to remind him of that promise," says Nadler, 
"and to keep him to his word."  The legislation would establish 
an agency independent of the National Institutes of Health, which
currently coordinates most of the government's AIDS research.  
"The NIH has developed a certain stodginess," Nadler remarks.  
"The idea of the AIDS Cure Act is that every pathway of research 
is worth funding."  Because it would provide "eminent domain," or
the power of the government to assume the right to release 
promising treatments that patent holders refuse to discuss, 
Nadler says the bill would address the greatly criticized 
"profit-motive" in AIDS research.  Activists say the 
"profit-motive" prevents potentially successful, but not 
profitable, treatments from being studied or released.
      
"AIDS Patients on Life and Death"
New York Times (05/13/94) P. C28;  Holden, Stephen
     Of the many films surfacing that focus on people with AIDS, Juan 
Botas and Lucas Platt's "One Foot on a Banana Peel, the Other 
Foot in the Grave," is one documentary that approaches the issue 
with a stunning intimacy like no other.  The film records the 
conversations of a group of male AIDS patients in their doctor's 
office, where they meet regularly to receive intravenous 
medication.  Unlike other documentaries on AIDS, "One Foot," does
not remain upbeat among the tragic circumstances.  Botas, a 
well-known graphic designer, died of AIDS in August 1992, just 
three months after starting the film.
      
"Medical Briefs: HIV Vaccine Enters Trial Phase"
Advocate (05/03/94) No. 654, P. 33
     Therion Biologics Corp. of Cambridge, Mass., will initiate Phase 
I clinical trials of an experimental recombinant vaccine known as
TBC-3B.  The vaccine is made from a live, restructured virus and 
aims to protect against HIV by triggering an immune response 
against the virus.  Trials will be conducted at AIDS vaccine 
evaluation units in St. Louis; Rochester, N.Y.; Seattle; and 
Nashville, Tenn.
      
"Home Healthcare Needs of Adults Living With HIV Disease/AIDS in 
New York City"
Journal of the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care (03/94-04/94) 
Vol. 5, No. 2, P. 33;  Hurley, Patricia M.;  Ungvarski, Peter J.
     In the first study seeking to identify the home healthcare needs 
of adults with HIV/AIDS, Hurley and Ungvarski traced a 
retrospective chart review of a random sample of cases discharged
from a New York City certified home health agency in 1991.  They 
frequently observed symptoms such as weakness, fatigue and 
lethargy, pain, cough, skin lesions, and loss of memory.  Other 
problems identified were inadequate nutrition, issues relevant to
compliance with prescribed medications, inadequate in-home 
support systems, inadequate facilities or utilities in the home, 
financial worries, and lifestyles that included drug and alcohol 
abuse and tobacco use.  Hurley and Ungvarski's findings suggest 
that the healthcare needs of HIV/AIDS patients in a home care 
environment is multifaceted, and not limited to the clinical 
manifestations of disease.
      
