                     AIDS Daily Summary 
                       July 22, 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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"Patents: Pharmaceutical Companies Lay Down $25 Million in Cold 
Cash for Rights to Hot New AIDS Drugs"
"Tending to Patients With AIDS Teaches Valuable Lessons" 
"AIDS Drugs Cloud Future for Buyers of Life Policies" 
"Small Stock Focus: Gilead Sciences, BioChem Pharma" 
"Across the USA: Indiana, Michigan"
"More AIDS Patients Found in Ethiopia"
"HIV-1 Infects Placenta as Early as First Trimester" 
"AIDS Mortality Alters Population Projections"
"US States Must Cover Protease Inhibitors" 
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"Patents: Pharmaceutical Companies Lay Down $25 Million in Cold 
Cash for Rights to Hot New AIDS Drugs"
New York Times (07/22/96) P. D2; Riordan, Teresa
     Vertex Pharmaceuticals and Glaxo Wellcome paid a combined
$25 million to G.D. Searle earlier this month for a nonexclusive 
license to a patent pending for protease inhibitors.  Searle, 
which is owned by Monsanto, had researched the new AIDS drugs, 
but did not pursue marketing approval.  Vertex and Glaxo, 
meanwhile, are now collaborating on clinical trials of a drug 
called VX-478.  The up-front payment guarantees that Searle will 
not sue the two companies for payment infringement when the drug 
is marketed.
     
"Tending to Patients With AIDS Teaches Valuable Lessons" 
Wall Street Journal (07/22/96) P. B1; Chase, Marilyn
     The AIDS epidemic has forced many adults into the role of 
caregiver at an earlier age than usual, as friends and loved ones 
fall ill in their prime years.  At the XIth International 
Conference on AIDS, caregivers discussed the difficulty of this 
role, as well as the feeling of strength it gives them.  Robert 
Washington, a mental health expert at the St. Francis Center in 
Washington, D.C., noted that caregiving means giving up one's own 
agenda and "being present" for whatever the patient needs.  
However, says M. Lyndon Haviland, a program coordinator at 
Columbia University's School of Public Health, caregivers need to 
remember not to neglect their own needs, so as to stave off 
depression and exhaustion.  To do so, caregivers should delegate 
tasks to others, take breaks and get counseling when needed, she 
recommends.
     
"AIDS Drugs Cloud Future for Buyers of Life Policies" 
Houston Chronicle (07/20/96) P. 1C; Sakson, Steve
     Medical advances in AIDS treatment are impacting the
viatical settlement industry, which is based on buying life 
insurance policies from people who are dying.  To maintain the 15 
percent annual returns such companies now offer investors, they 
may have to buy policies from only the sickest patients and pay 
less for all policies.  The advent of protease inhibitors caused 
stock in viatical settlement firms to drop substantially in the 
past year, with National Capital Benefit's parent company losing 
50 percent and Dignity Partners falling 77 percent.  AIDS 
activists are concerned because they say that the long-term 
benefits of the drugs are not proven and that without the money 
some patients get from selling their life insurance, they may not 
be able to afford rent, food, or medicine.
     
"Small Stock Focus: Gilead Sciences, BioChem Pharma" 
Wall Street Journal (07/22/96) P. C1; Lohse, Deborah
     Biotechnology stocks were among those recently affected as
the Nasdaq Composite Index declined.  According to data from 
Prudential Securities, the 77 biotechnology stocks on its 
biotechnology index fell 21 percent.  Some advisors, however, are 
now recommending certain biotechnology companies that have become 
relative bargains in the market sell-off.  David Bayer of American 
Express Financial Advisers recommends Gilead Sciences, a leader in 
research on AIDS drugs, while Stefan Cobb of Sirach Capital 
Management recommends BioChem Pharma, a company that has seen its 
earnings estimates increase as its new AIDS therapy, 3TC, hits the 
shelves.
     
"Across the USA: Indiana, Michigan"
USA Today (07/22/96) P. 12A
     Hemophiliacs in Indiana can sue drug companies whose blood 
products allegedly were contaminated with HIV, the Indiana 
Supreme Court ruled. In Michigan, meanwhile, an Oakland 
University biology professor has been reinstated following a 
ruling that his suspension was unfair.  Prof. Rasul Chaudry had 
been charged with not ensuring the safety of faculty and students 
engaged in AIDS research.
     
"More AIDS Patients Found in Ethiopia" 
Xinhua News Agency (07/20/96) 
     Blood tests of 817 Ethiopian patients in three hospitals
found that 509 were infected with HIV.  In Axum and Adwa 
hospitals, the number of HIV-positive patients has increased 30 
percent over last year.  According to a new report from the 
Ethiopian News Agency, the majority of the infected individuals 
are civil servants, drivers, prostitutes, and ex-servicemen.  The 
Ethiopian National AIDS Control Department recently disclosed 
that there are also an estimated 350,000 people with full-blown 
AIDS in the country.
     
"HIV-1 Infects Placenta as Early as First Trimester" 
Reuters (07/19/96) 
     HIV-1 can infect the placenta as early as the first
trimester of pregnancy, reported Chiara De Andreis of Milan and 
colleagues in the June issue of the journal AIDS.  The 
researchers said they found HIV in two-thirds of cord blood 
samples analyzed in their study of 30 HIV-positive women.  They 
said, however, that more research was needed to determine "the 
source of HIV in cord blood and the possible contribution of 
placental or maternal cells infected with HIV to vertical 
transmission of the virus."
     
"AIDS Mortality Alters Population Projections"
1996 World Population Data Sheet of the Population Reference 
Bureau (06/96) 
     AIDS has presented itself to demographers as a disease whose
long-term impact must be considered.  In Africa, HIV and AIDS 
already appear to be altering the demographics of up to 30 
nations, particularly Botswana, Kenya, Malawi, Uganda, Zambia, and 
Zimbabwe.  The United Nations estimated in 1994 that the 
population of seriously affected sub-Saharan countries would be 
about 4 percent less in 2005 than it would have been without AIDS. 
However, new analysis by the U.S. Bureau of Census' International 
Programs Center predicts a greater impact from AIDS in some 
countries than had been projected.  According to the forecasts, 
the population of sub-Saharan Africa in 2025 will be 100 million 
lower than what had been expected.  Taking into account a moderate 
impact from AIDS, Africa's population could reach about 1.5 
billion by 2025 and will near 2 billion by mid-century.
     
"US States Must Cover Protease Inhibitors"
Lancet (07/06/96) Vol. 348, No. 9019, P. 52; Barnett, Alicia Ault
     The Clinton administration has informed state Medicaid
programs that they must cover the three newly approved protease 
inhibitors. The administration also cautioned states to be 
careful not to "excessively or unreasonably restrict" coverage of 
any HIV/AIDS therapies.  Sally K. Richardson, director of the 
Medicaid Bureau at the Department of Health and Human Services, 
said that limiting access to drugs needed by HIV-infected 
patients can have "serious ramifications, including the emergence 
of resistance if such drugs are discontinued."
     
     
