                     AIDS Daily Summary 
                       July 18, 1996
     
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 National AIDS 
Clearinghouse, or any other organization. Reproduction of this 
text is encouraged; however, copies may not be sold, and the CDC 
National AIDS Clearinghouse should be cited as the source of this 
information. Copyright 1996, Information, Inc., Bethesda, MD
     
     
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"Buyer of AIDS Patients' Insurance Quitting"
"Tiny Czech Lab Makes Promising Gains With Drugs for AIDS, 
Related Illness"
"BioChem Shares Tumble in Nasdaq Carnage, Despite Drug's Critical 
Role in AIDS Cocktail"
"Preventing AIDS Is Still the Best Investment" 
"AIDS Protesters Confront Chretien"
"Attorney Honored for Giving Free Assistance to HIV-Positive 
Clients"
"Shortsighted Prescription-Drug Policy" 
"Mother Breast Feeds HIV Baby"
"Health Care/Market Facts: Tracking AIDS Is Tricky Business" 
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"Buyer of AIDS Patients' Insurance Quitting" 
New York Times (07/18/96) P. D8
     Dignity Partners, one of the first companies to buy life 
insurance policies from AIDS patients, announced a halt to its 
business on Wednesday.  The company noted that new drugs that 
prolong survival of people with AIDS may hurt their business.  
The company's share price on the Nasdaq stock market dropped 77 
percent to $1.375 on the news, down $4.6875.  More than 95 
percent of Dignity Partners' business involved policies held by 
people with HIV or AIDS, the company said.
     
"Tiny Czech Lab Makes Promising Gains With Drugs for AIDS, 
Related Illness"
Wall Street Journal (07/18/96) P. A6; Calbreath, Dean
     The Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the
Czech Academy of Sciences has developed a drug for AIDS-related 
blindness that recently hit the market. Analysts predict that the 
drug Vistide, licensed to Gilead Sciences of Foster City, Calif., 
could bring in $45 million in annual sales.  The institute has 
also developed two anti-HIV drugs--PMPA, which could replace 
Glaxo Wellcome's AZT, and PMEA, which Gilead is already readying 
for marketing.  PMPA, which may be able to prevent HIV infection, 
has an advantage over AZT in that it does not need to be absorbed 
by the body's cells to begin blocking HIV.
     
"BioChem Shares Tumble in Nasdaq Carnage, Despite Drug's Critical 
Role in AIDS Cocktail"
Wall Street Journal (07/18/96) P. C2; McGough, Robert; Chipello, 
Christopher J.
     BioChem Pharma was not spared in the recent carnage in the
Nasdaq Stock Market, even though its AIDS drug 3TC was reported 
to be a critical factor in AIDS treatment.  Last week, the 
company's stock closed 43 percent below its May peak of 50.  In 
the past two days, however, the stock has rebounded, closing 
Wednesday up 1, at 32.  3TC, which is manufactured and sold 
outside of Canada by Glaxo Wellcome, is part of a three-drug 
combination that appears to be able to suppress HIV.
     
"Preventing AIDS Is Still the Best Investment"
New York Times (07/18/96) P. A22; Lamptey, Peter; Gelman, Irwin 
H.; Duane, Thomas K.
     In a series of letters to the editor appearing in the New
York Times, three writers take issue with various points made in 
Gabriel Rotello's July 14 commentary.  Dr. Peter Lamptey, 
director of the AIDS Control and Prevention Project, argues that 
AIDS prevention efforts have not failed, as Rotello suggests.  
Lamptey cites increased condom use and reductions in HIV 
infection rates.  Meanwhile, Irwin H. Gelman, a microbiologist at 
the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, writes that, without an 
effective vaccine, combination drug therapies are the best hope 
for treating HIV infection.  Furthermore, Thomas K. Duane, a 
member of the New York City Council, objects to Rotello's 
proposal to exclude patients from drug therapy programs based on 
their inability to follow a strict regimen.
     
"AIDS Protesters Confront Chretien"
Toronto Globe and Mail (07/17/96) P. A4; Cox, Kevin
     At a campaign-style picnic on Tuesday, Canadian Prime
Minister Jean Chretien was met by AIDS activists who complained 
that Chretien had not attended the international AIDS conference 
in Vancouver last week.  Chretien, who said he was on vacation 
with his family, pointed out that the Canadian government has 
spent $41 million a year on a five-year plan to combat the 
disease.  He accused some activists of falsely claiming that 
support for AIDS research is being cut off next year.
     
"Attorney Honored for Giving Free Assistance to HIV-Positive 
Clients"
Houston Chronicle (07/17/96) P. 22A; Villafranca, Armando
     Houston attorney Michael Katine has been honored by the
State Bar of Texas with the 1996 Frank J. Scurlock award for 
providing free legal services to HIV-positive indigent clients. 
Katine took on HIV-positive clients in the early- and mid-1980s, 
despite the jeers and jibes from some of his peers and the strong 
social stigma against people with the virus.  For two years, Katine 
has held free legal workshops and seminars on HIV and the law.  He 
volunteers as legal counsel for both the Montrose Clinic and the 
Loving Arms Foundation, which provide free medical care to HIV 
patients.  Katine continues to serve the HIV-community, providing 
estate planning, dealing with insurance conflicts, and job 
discrimination.
     
"Shortsighted Prescription-Drug Policy"
Washington Post (07/18/96) P. A26; Gibson, Thomas F.
     In a letter to the editor of the Washington Post, Thomas
Gibson, president of the American Lung Association, responds to a 
Post series on TennCare, contending that the program may hurt 
efforts to combat tuberculosis (TB).  TennCare's prescription drug 
program covers only partial TB therapy, Gibson says, which could 
result in the emergence of drug-resistant strains.  He points out 
that the program is too restrictive of doctors' abilities to 
prescribe drugs, denying them the authority to use their best 
judgment.  In the case of TB, he says that patients would not be 
able to get the most effective drugs until they are hospitalized.
     
"Mother Breast Feeds HIV Baby"
United Press International (07/16/96) 
     A woman who accidentally breast fed a baby born to an 
HIV-positive mother said Tuesday that she will sue the hospital if 
it does not settle out of court for $200,000.  The mother and her 
own child have not tested positive for the virus, but a six-month 
detection period is needed to be sure they are not infected.  The 
woman had been given the wrong baby to nurse by a staffer at 
Broward Medical Center.  Hospital officials said there is only a 
small chance the baby could give the woman HIV and claimed there 
was no grounds for a settlement because no one was hurt.
     
"Health Care/Market Facts: Tracking AIDS Is Tricky Business" 
Crain's Chicago Business (07/01/96) Vol. 19, No. 27, P. F12; 
Ferkenhoff, Eric
     Health care experts warn that the reported 30 percent
decline in the number of AIDS cases in Chicago between 1994 and 
1995 could be misleading.  The number of cases reported reflects 
how many are processed by surveillance officials during the year, 
not necessarily the number of cases diagnosed, they note.  James 
Cappleman, a social worker with the AIDS program at St. Joseph's 
Health Center and Hospital, said the number of cases is not 
declining, but may be holding steady.  The figures may be 
misleading due to previously overlooked cases being tracked down 
later and added to totals for later years.  Overstating the gains 
made is dangerous because "people who don't even acknowledge the 
fact that they're at risk are now going to start thinking the 
epidemic is going away," says James Murphy, of the Chicago 
Department of Public Health.
     
     
