HIV-AIDS

 

 

Pharmaceutical researchers are testing 92 medicines and vaccines to treat or prevent HIV/AIDS and related conditions, according to a report released today by the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA). December 1 marks the 20th anniversary of “World AIDS Day” – a global awareness campaign that originated at the 1988 World Summit of Ministers of Health on Programmes for AIDS Prevention. (Click here to see full report.)

 

The report found that of the 92 products in development, researchers are studying 20 vaccines and 46 antivirals. These drugs are either in human clinical trials or await approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

 

The report also lists 30 medicines to treat HIV/AIDS that have been approved since the virus that causes AIDS was first identified more than 20 years ago. The first such medicine was developed in 1987, just four years after the HIV virus was identified. The increased availability and utilization of newer prescription medicines has helped to reduce the U.S. death rate from AIDS substantially in recent years, according to government statistics.
 
Despite that progress, AIDS remains a devastating and growing worldwide health problem in developing countries, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, China, India and the Russian Federation. According to the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, an estimated 32.7 million people worldwide lived with HIV at the end of 2006.

 

This year, that figure grew to an estimated 33.2 million people living with HIV, with an estimated 2.1 million people newly infected in 2007.

 

From 2000 to 2006, America’s pharmaceutical research companies contributed more than $6.7 billion to improve health care in the developing world, according to the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers & Associations. The projects they underwrote included building clinics to treat patients with HIV/AIDS, education and prevention programs, initiatives to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV, and donations of medicines for AIDS and related diseases. Companies also provide AIDS drugs at significantly reduced prices in many countries.

SELECTED MEDICINES AND VACCINES IN DEVELOPMENT FOR HIV/AIDS*

Engineering Resistant Cells:  An antisense gene therapy medicine in development that targets gene expression and uses two novel technologies to boost immune responsiveness against HIV. One technology involves inserting genetic material into blood cells to slow down the growth of the virus. The second involves inserting new genes into target cells, then integrating the gene into the chromosome of the cell. The cells containing the new genes are then transferred to the patient. 

Blocking a Key Receptor:  Studies show that some people are immune to HIV, despite repeated exposure to the virus. Some of these people have a variant of the CCR5 protein that sits on the surface of their cells. To infect a cell, HIV must first bind to the CCR5 receptor. Since it can’t bind to the variant protein, HIV can’t enter the target cells. A medicine in development uses this knowledge to block HIV. It binds to the CCR5 receptor so the virus can’t enter the cell. 

Preventive Vaccines:  A gene-based vaccine in development has shown to generate a broad spectrum of immune responses in patients and is designed to protect against the three most common types of HIV-1 virus found in the world.

Preventing HIV Transmission:  The World Health Organization states that unprotected sex is the predominant mode of HIV transmission. A new topical microbicide would allow women to protect themselves without the use of condoms. The medicine, one in a class of drugs being studied to prevent sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV – has exhibited potential potent antiviral activity following human administration.
 
Meeting the Need for Pain Relief:  Painful HIV-associated neuropathy is a frequent neurological complication of HIV/AIDS. It usually occurs in the feet and hands and can be a side effect of the disease and certain HIV medications. A topical medicine in development that is a synthetic form of the naturally-occurring ingredient that makes chili peppers hot, has shown to significantly reduce the pain over several weeks. Currently there are no approved medications for painful HIV-associated neuropathy in the United States.

*From Medicines in Development for HIV/AIDS, 2007, PhRMA