AIDS TREATMENT NEWS Issue #397, December 26, 2003
    phone 800-TREAT-1-2, or 215-546-3776

CONTENTS:

** "Shy" Study Suggests New Treatment Mechanism
A study found that socially inhibited persons with HIV did much
worse than others virologically -- due to biological differences
that might be reversible with readily available drugs. This
theory would be easy to test in small clinical trials. If it
works, it might lead to a new kind of treatment that could
greatly reduce viral load for some patients.

** Abbott Laboratories Increases Norvir Price Fivefold
On December 4, Abbott Laboratories increased the price of its
drug Norvir fivefold -- possibly the largest out-of-the-blue
overnight price increase for a life-critical medicine in
history.

** ADAP Washington Visit Feb. 23-25; Scholarship Deadline
January 16
On February 23-25 you can join people from around the U.S. in
Washington D.C. to tell your representatives about the
importance of emergency funding for the AIDS Drug Assistance
Program, which makes treatment possible for tens of thousands of
people. If you want to apply for hotel, travel, and per-diem
expenses, the deadline is next week.

** African-Americans and AIDS Conference, Philadelphia, Feb. 23-
24
This annual conference, primarily for medical professionals who
treat African Americans with HIV, will take place this year in
Philadelphia. We list highlights of the program.

** AIDS TREATMENT NEWS Will Publish Online, Print 12 Issues a
Year
We will continue the print edition, but also publish preprints
of articles online as news happens.

** Buyers' Club List, December 2003
Here is our annual update of AIDS-related buyers clubs and
similar organizations

** AIDS TREATMENT NEWS Index, 2003


***** "Shy" Study Suggests New Treatment Mechanism

by John S. James

A careful study of 54 asymptomatic, HIV-positive gay men,
published December 15, 2003, in the journal BIOLOGICAL
PSYCHIATRY found that "socially inhibited" individuals had a
viral load setpoint eight times higher than others -- and a much
worse response to antiretroviral treatment as well, with only
about one eighth of the viral load reduction of the other
volunteers (all treated volunteers were starting HAART for the
first time).(1) The study also showed that elevated activity of
the autonomic nervous system explained most of this difference -
- showing "the first clinical evidence that differential
neuronal activity mediates relationships between psychological
risk factors and infectious disease pathogenesis" (quotation
from the abstract). Apparently socially inhibited persons have a
higher baseline stress level, and control excess stress by
limiting social interaction.

The authors note other studies showing that norepinephrine,
which is released in response to stress, changes the function of
cells in several ways that result in faster HIV replication.
They note that naturally occurring differences in autonomic
nervous system activity can be associated with up to a 100-fold
difference in HIV viral load -- and suggest testing drugs that
might become powerful adjunctive therapies, slowing HIV
progression and greatly improving antiretroviral treatment in
many patients.

A recent article in THE WASHINGTON POST discussed this work, and
related work of other scientists.(2) For example, a link between
depression and HIV progression may be mediated by different
biochemical pathways -- opening doors to different treatments
for depressed patients than for those with a high stress level.

Comment: Designing Clinical Trials

There are already approved drugs, widely used for other
purposes, that can reduce some of the mechanisms that may be
responsible for poor control of HIV and poor response to
antiretrovirals in certain patients. But until recently, nobody
had any reason to imagine using them as part of a strategy for
reducing HIV viral load. (For example, beta-blockers are used to
lower effects of norepinephrine. But the link with depression
might lead to entirely different drug candidates, for to
different patients.)

Once plausible drugs are identified, they could be tested
relatively easily, because viral load is a continuous
measurement that reaches a new setpoint fairly rapidly. For
example, one might select patients who are poorly controlling
HIV (so that they have a large scope for improvement), who meet
other criteria such as social inhibition suggesting that the
drug being tested might work particularly well (so that success
is easy to see), and who also have a fairly stable viral load,
either on treatment or off (so that changes can more easily be
attributed to the drug being tested). These patients would be
randomized to either take the drug immediately or wait a few
weeks; in either case their viral load would be carefully
monitored for several weeks or months. If the drug worked as
hoped, there would be a large decrease in viral load without any
other change in antiretroviral treatment. If this happened, the
volunteers would be followed indefinitely to see if the
treatment could be continued successfully. These trials would
only require a few patients each. They could be designed,
recruited, and conducted in months, not years.

It is likely that drug candidates can be found that are already
widely available and well known in human use. Some of them may
be inexpensive. Often manufacturers of non-HIV drugs do not want
an HIV use discovered (because they fear that patients, or their
family members or friends, will wrongly suspect that someone is
secretly being treated for AIDS -- threatening a large market
for a much smaller one). But if a drug is already in widespread
use, the manufacturer's cooperation in researching it, while
helpful, would not be necessary. The community will need to pay
attention, however, and take initiative to make things happen.
The system cannot be trusted to work by itself.

At a time when progress in conventional antiretroviral treatment
has slowed, here is a wide-open area that, if it works, could
rapidly lead to major treatment advances.

References

(1) Cole SW, Kemeny ME, Fahey JL, Zack JA, and Naliboff BD.
Psychological risk factors for HIV pathogenesis: Mediation by
the autonomic nervous system. BIOLOGICAL PSYCHIATRY December 15,
2003; volume 54, pages 1444-1456.

(2) "Stress Found to Weaken Resistance to Illness" by Shankar
Vedantam, WASHINGTON POST, December 22, 2003, page A12.


***** Abbott Laboratories Increases Norvir Price Fivefold

by John S. James

In an entirely unexpected move on December 4, 2003, Abbott
Laboratories increased the U.S. wholesale price of its 100-mg
capsules of ritonavir (Norvir(R)), to five times what it had
been the day before -- and increased the price of the liquid
formulation comparably. Norvir, originally approved in 1996 and
with estimated sales of over $1.3 billion to date, is widely
used in small doses to "boost" the effect of other protease
inhibitors, and the new price will greatly increase the cost of
several widely used treatments. The new price may be the largest
overnight, unexpected price jump in history for a life-critical
drug.

Abbott did not announce the increase except in a letter to
wholesalers stating the new price (we learned about the change
through emails from patients). After opposition from doctors'
and other organizations, and stories in THE WALL STREET JOURNAL,
CHICAGO TRIBUNE (Abbott is located outside Chicago), and other
news media, Abbott sent a Dear Doctor letter to HIV physicians,
saying that it had carefully planned the increases so that they
would not block patients' access. It said it would provide the
drug free to those who pay out of pocket (about 5% of patients
using the drug, according to Abbott) regardless of their
financial status -- and would not raise the price for ADAP or
Medicaid until June 2005. [Note: It could not raise these
government prices much until 2005 anyway, due to existing
regulations and agreements]. For those paying through private
insurance (about 40%), Abbott said it had contacted "many"
health-insurance providers and found that they do not restrict
HIV medications through a formulary, nor plan to increase co-
pays or premiums. (Prices outside the U.S. are unchanged because
of price controls in the major markets.)

In fact, patients are already changing their treatment
(especially from full-dose Norvir), despite the risk of
switching from a regimen they know is working for them to one
they do not know (see "Price of AIDS Drug Soars Fivefold" in the
SEATTLE TIMES, January 5, 2004). And another problem not visible
right away is that some insurance companies keep raising
premiums for those who need expensive care, eventually making
the insurance prohibitive and abandoning these patients.

Abbott did not raise the price of the small ritonavir dose in
Abbott's Kaletra product -- immediately putting competitors'
protease inhibitors at a major disadvantage if they use the
boosted dosing most doctors now recommend. Abbott just added
another $2500, $5000, or $10,000 per year (wholesale cost) to
the price of its competitors' products (depending on how much
Norvir needs to be taken to slow the body's destruction of the
other drug).

The five-fold price increase could also inhibit the development
of new boosted protease inhibitors, now becoming increasingly
successful treatment options. "Why bother to invest in these
areas if Abbott has effectively priced you out of the market in
the U.S.?" one scientist asked.(1)

Community Response

On December 18, 2003, the HIV Medicine Association asked Abbott
to "reconsider the recent 500 percent price increase of
ritonavir (Norvir(R)), a drug which as you know is necessary to
the success of virtually all protease inhibitor combinations for
the treatment of HIV infection. The HIV Medicine Association
(HIVMA) represents 2,600 physicians and other health care
providers who practice HIV medicine. While we recognize the
value of ritonavir, we are alarmed by your decision to raise the
cost of protease inhibitor (PI) regimens to the point where many
people who need these life-saving drug combinations will
struggle to pay for them or will not have access to them at
all."(2)

Efforts have started to organize a boycott across all Abbott
products. A five-fold drug price increase speaks to everybody,
and opens a Pandora's box for a whole new level of corporate
abuses. A boycott could be effective if buying from Abbott
becomes something to avoid in the medical community, and major
hospitals and other institutions redirect large orders when they
have the opportunity, when equally good products are available
from competitors. Antitrust avenues are being explored as well
(not even Microsoft could raise its competitors' prices); we
have heard that state attorney general offices are interested.
Also, several ritonavir patents were developed with government
support, and under a Federal law known as the Bayh-Dole Act, the
government could license a third party to produce the drug if
the patent holder fails to make it available on reasonable
terms.

And AIDS treatment activists are talking with other groups
affected by pharmaceutical-industry abuses.

Comment: Drug Development

In addition to specific remedies, we also need a new look at the
big picture of how medicines are developed.

People died in the clinical trials and clinical experience that
led to the modern use of boosted protease inhibitors. Patients
need options, but now one company wants to take away much of the
benefit of what has been learned, in order to increase its
market share and profit. Congress has given big pharmaceutical
corporations a monopoly on life and death, but this system
cannot work unless the power is used with some restraint and
respect for public interest.

Americans are told they must suffer exorbitant prices for
critical drugs to provide incentive to develop new medicines.
But in fact, the industry's record in creating medical
breakthroughs is remarkably poor in light of the great advances
in biological sciences, and the great resources pharmaceutical
companies have at their disposal. The biggest reason, we
believe, is one that gets far too little attention -- that the
pharmaceutical industry does nothing to develop non-patentable
treatments, and very little to develop even proprietary
treatments if the rights are unclear or scattered among
competitors, who seldom cooperate well. Many if not most of the
best medical and scientific leads are off the table entirely
under the current system, simply because of ownership and rights
issues. Nothing can be done without a clearly visible hook of
something to sell -- a way to build a business, perhaps, but not
a way to discover new knowledge or create new medicines.

Pharmaceutical companies are marketing organizations, not
research organizations. They conduct or fund only a little basic
research (much of it for public-relations purposes), and usually
farm out clinical research to specialized companies.

And increasingly pharmaceutical companies are lobbying
organizations, with more Federal lobbyists, 623, than members of
Congress, 535. These lobbyists include 23 former members of
Congress, who have special access to their colleagues. The
industry spends over $78 million a year on Federal lobbying(3) -
- an average of over $145,000 every year to influence each
member of Congress, with all this money often targeted to
changing just a small number of key votes. Campaign
contributions, real and fake "issue" ads, and monies to change
public discussion by influencing academics, medical journals,
think tanks, physicians, reporters, activists, and other
"thought leaders" are not counted in this total.

This is why an unworkable system that threatens everyone's life
is so hard to change.

Meanwhile, government, university, non-profit, and
public/private groups sometimes develop new drugs (a recent
example is the emergency contraceptive, Plan B). But they have
been discouraged from doing so by the ideology that this is
industry's job -- even while "open source" development in other
fields is showing new ways to organize the work of thousands of
individuals and teams around the world to create and run large
projects successfully.

Pharmaceutical pricing has become a serious issue everywhere in
the world (even where there are price controls -- which have
worked less well for new drugs because there is no baseline
price, and in any event are under attack by the U.S.
government). A five-fold, out-of-the-blue price increase sets a
precedent that can hurt anyone. And it moves us further toward a
world where the big advances of 21st-century medicine for
cancer, Alzheimer's, autoimmune, infectious, and other diseases
will routinely be reserved for rich or well-insured minority,
while others live or die without them.

The first step toward a better way is to open drug development
to a variety of teams, structures, and institutions, not just
one. What big pharma can do, and do well, is to bring together
the loose ends left by others to accomplish the critically
important and intensely political task of getting proprietary
drugs into rich or well-insured bodies. Today's pharmaceutical
industry can make a better Viagra. But will not develop
medicines for diseases of poor countries -- or non-proprietary
treatments for anyone, even when they are the best at any price.

For More Information, and How to Help

A place to start is the AIDS Treatment Activist Coalition
(ATAC). It has posted materials on the Norvir price increase on
its site: http://www.atac-usa.org/

Treatment activists who join ATAC can participate in ongoing
discussions on the Norvir price increase, ADAP funding, drug
development options, prison health care, and other issues.

References

(1) Unnamed pharmaceutical-company scientist quoted by Keith
Alcorn of AIDSMAP, in "Ritonavir price increased: What are the
consequences in 2004?" at:
http://www.aidsmap.com/news/newsdisplay2.asp?newsId=2466
(follow the link to Part 2).

(2) A press release and the letter to Abbott from the HIV
Medical Association are at: http://www.hivma.org

(3) AMERICA'S OTHER DRUG PROBLEM: A BRIEFING BOOK ON THE RX DRUG
DEBATE, prepared by Public Citizen's Congress Watch, at:
http://www.citizen.org/rxfacts


***** ADAP Washington Visit Feb. 23-25; Scholarship Deadline
January 16

As AIDS TREATMENT NEWS went to press we received the following
notice from Save ADAP, of the AIDS Treatment Activist Coalition,
about an effort to prevent thousands of Americans from being
denied HIV treatment solely due to lack of funding. Because a
scholarship deadline is next week, we included the information
here.

"Save ADAP members from around the country will be visiting our
nation's policy makers on February 23-25, 2004 in Washington
D.C. to ask Congress for an Emergency Supplemental funding for
the crumbling AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP). We are
inviting other people living with HIV/AIDS and service providers
to join us. Save ADAP is providing 50 full scholarships for
people who cannot afford to pay for the trip themselves.
Priority will be given to ADAP clients, people on ADAP waiting
lists, women, people of color, PWA/HIVs, and frontline service
providers living in one of the following ADAP crisis states
(Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky,
Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina,
Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Washington, West
Virginia, Wyoming.)

"The scholarship will cover round-trip travel, hotel, and a per-
diem for the entire trip. There will be a half-day orientation
on Feb. 23rd, followed by visits to both of your U.S. Senators
and your House Representative on the two remaining days.

Deadline for applications is Friday, January 16, 2004. Please
send the following information to TheAccessProject@aol.com or
fax it to 212-260-8869. For questions, please contact Lei Chou
at the AIDS Treatment Data Network 212-260-8868 x.21

Name:
Address:
Phone:
e-mail:
Race/Gender:
ADAP client? Y/N
On an ADAP Waiting list? Y/N
HIV Service Provider? Y/N
If yes, what is your job?
Do you need a Scholarship? Y/N

Background:

"In 2003, ADAP served over 90,000 Americans living with HIV
disease. This important program has been under funded for the
last four years. Congress appropriated a $35 million increase
for fiscal year 2004, but this amount falls far short of the
$215 million needed to keep pace with the growing demand. This
is a critical turning point for the program, starting a new
fiscal year with a $180 million budget shortfall, the largest
ever, representing roughly 1/5 of the entire budget. As we are
nearing the end of the current ADAP fiscal year (3/31/2004),
there are already over 700 people on waiting lists across ten
states, with another six implementing program cut backs and
access restrictions. To ensure current ADAP clients coverage,
close to half of the ADAPs around the country will be starting
their new fiscal year with their doors closed to new clients.

"In order to prevent the further collapse of ADAP, we are asking
Congress and the Administration to provide an Emergency
Supplemental funding of $180 million dollars for ADAP for the up
coming fiscal year. To this end, Save ADAP is conducting a
national grassroots campaign to take the message to our
representatives in Washington D.C. Save ADAP members from around
the country will be visiting Congressional offices on February
24th and 25th to educate the law makers on the importance of
ADAP, and to warn against the dire consequences of underfunding
this program. Please join us in this effort to Save ADAP. Please
contact Lei Chou at TheAccessProject@aol.com or 212-20-8868 x21
if you want to participate in this event."

For more information about Save ADAP, see:
http://www.atac-usa.org/adap.html


***** African-Americans and AIDS Conference, Philadelphia, Feb.
23-24

The 2004 National Conference on African-Americans and AIDS -- "a
national forum on HIV/AIDS for health professionals who provide
care for African-Americans" -- will take place in Philadelphia,
February 23 and 24, at the Wyndham Franklin Plaza Hotel.

This year for the first time the conference will have a separate
track on advanced HIV management, separated from the basic
track.

Conference admission is $100 (which includes both days,
continental breakfast, box lunches on both days, and the
reception), through February 10. After February 10, or at the
door, this price goes up to $135. If you want to stay at the
hotel, special conference rates are available.

Program Highlights -- Day 1
* Elaine M. Daniels, M.D., Ph.D.: Epidemiology of HIV in the
United States
* Beny J. Primm, M.D.: Introduction of guest speakers
* Danny Glover: Special guest speaker
* Victoria A. Cargill, M.D., M.S.C.E.: Minority Population
Research Initiatives
* Mary Lawrence-Hicks, N.P.: HIV Complementary Therapy and
Support Care
* Cleo Manago: Protective Factors and Policies
* Working lunch on African-American women, and new activism
* Valerie E. Stone, M.D., M.P.H.: Clinical Management Strategies
* Glenn Treisman, M.D., Ph.D.: Psychiatric Co-Morbidities in the
HIV-Infected Patient
* Marc Ghany, M.D.: Hepatitis and HIV Co-Infection, Clinical
Management, New Strategies
* Wilbert Jordan, M.D.: Working Specialized Clinic Models
* Henry Francis, M.D.: Legal and Illegal Drug Use
* Evening reception

Program Highlights, Day 2
* Phill Wilson: New Directions in HIV/AIDS Policy
* Jonathan Zenilman, M.D., and Celia Maxwell, M.D.: Men, Women,
and STDs
* Jocelyn Elders, M.D., Special guest speaker
* Robert Fullilove III, Ed.D.: The Modern Diaspora from Africa
and the Caribbean and Cultural Fluency
* Jean R. Anderson, M.D.: Clinical Management of HIV in Women
* Working lunch panel including Wilbert Jordan, M.D., Keith
Cylar, and Darrell P. Wheeler, Ph.D.
* Wilbert Jordan, M.D.: Focused Intervention: Novel Approaches
to Outreach
* George W. Roberts, Ph.D.: HIV prevention for African-Americans
* Darrell P. Wheeler, Ph.D.: Special Research Involving Black,
HIV-Infected Gay, Bisexual, SGL, Transgender, and Heterosexual
MSM
* Keith Cylar, Special Needs of the HIV-Infected Homeless

For more information, see:
http://www.minority-healthcare.com


***** AIDS TREATMENT NEWS Will Publish Online, Print 12 Issues a
Year

Starting in January 2004, AIDS TREATMENT NEWS is moving to a
system of publishing drafts or preprints of articles online as
news happens, then publishing these stories monthly in the print
edition. Since the online preprints may change as necessary, the
printed article will be the official version.

The print edition will continue to be published as usual.
Subscribers will see no difference, and do not need to take any
action as a result of this change.

When the new Web site is ready, it will be available at
http://www.aidsnews.org


***** Buyers' Club List, December 2002

AIDS TREATMENT NEWS publishes a buyers' club list each December.
For a short overview and introduction to the meaning, history,
and services of these organizations, see AIDS TREATMENT NEWS
#309, December 18, 1998.

All the organizations listed below are nonprofit. Most can
provide products by mail order. Most have fact sheets or other
information, and some have a nutritionist or other expert
available at certain times to answer questions. Some offer
financial assistance with purchases if necessary. Most are open
to the public, but some require membership. Call ahead for
current information.

Arizona

Body Positive's Vitamin and Herb Shop
1144 E. McDowell Rd, Suite 200
Phoenix AZ 85004
602-307-5330x2239
http://www.phoenixbodypositive.org/vitamin/index.htm

Travis Wright Memorial Buyers' Club
Southern Arizona AIDS Foundation
http://www.saaf.org/
wellness@saaf.org
375 S. Euclid Ave
Tucson AZ 85719
800-771-9054 or 520-628-7223
fax: 520-628-6222;  TTY: 800-367-8937

California

Rainbow Grocery Cooperative (20% PWA discount on vitamins, 10%
on groceries, with the Helping Hand card)
http://www.rainbowgrocery.coop/ or
http://www.rainbowgrocery.org/
vitamins@rainbowgrocery.org
1745 Folsom St.
San Francisco CA 94103
415-863-0620

Colorado

Denver Buyers' Club
pwacolo@aol.com
1290 Williams St.
Mailing address: P.O. Box 300339, Denver CO 80203-0339
303-329-9379x108, fax: 303-329-9381
Bilingual Spanish/English  TTY: through operator

District of Columbia

Carl Vogel Center
cvchiv@carlvogelcenter.org
1012 14th St. NW, Suite 700, Washington DC 20005
202-638-0750, fax: 202-638-0749
Membership: annual cost $25 (includes a BIA test, reduced prices
for massage and acupuncture, an educational symposium, a
newsletter, and reduced prices for supplements).
The Carl Vogel Center now offers mental health services and
treatment education.

Georgia

AIDS Treatment Initiatives
info@aidstreatment.org
139 Ralph McGill Blvd. NE Suite 305
Atlanta GA 30308-3311
888-874-4845 or 404-659-2437
fax: 404-450-9412

Massachusetts

Treatment Information Network's Boston Buyers' Club
http://www.bostonbuyersclub.com/
info@bostonbuyersclub.com
Boston Living Center, 29 Stanhope St., 3rd Floor
Boston MA 02116
800-435-5586, or 617-266-2223
fax: 617-450-9412

New York

DAAIR (Direct Access Alternative Information Resources)
http://www.daair.org/ (see note below)
118 Park Avenue
Newark, NJ 07104
888-951-5433, or 973-497-2333
fax: 973-497-0498
Note: DAAIR has temporarily stopped selling nutritional
supplements; it may resume in April 2004. Until then it is
selling prescription medicines only.

Texas

Houston Buyers' Club
http://www.houstonbuyersclub.com/
info@houstonbuyersclub.com
3224 Yoakum Blvd.
Houston TX 77006
800-350-2392, or 713-520-5288
fax: 713-521-7419
Local and mail order (U.S., and many other countries).
Note: HOW TO MANAGE SIDE EFFECTS, a 48-page booklet by Lark
Lands, Michael Mooney, Nelson Vergel, and others is available
without charge. You can request a copy by phone, mail, or email.


***** AIDS Treatment News Index, 2003

Abacavir+tenofovir+3TC failure 393
Abbott raises Norvir price five fold 397
Access for all, Thailand conference theme 395
ADAP organizing 388
ADAP Washington trip 397
Aegis 388
Africa Action 390
Africa trials -- no drugs 391
African-Americans and AIDS Conference 388
African-Americans and AIDS Conference 397
AIDS TREATMENT NEWS online publication 397
AIDS TREATMENT NEWS 396
Antibiotic-resistant staph 388
Atazanavir (Reyataz) approved 392
Bahamas antiretroviral prices, Clinton 389
Biomedical research cuts 392
Bush AIDS initiative 388
Bush AIDS initiative 391
Buyers' club lists 397
Cholesterol management 394
Ciasullo, Eric, on returning to work 395
Clinical Care Options for Hepatitis 391
Clinical Care Options 388
Clinton Foundation lowers Caribbean price 389
Clinton Foundation, HAART 40 cents/day 395
Cohen, Dr. Cal, on Retroviruses conf., pt 1 389
Cohen, Dr. Cal, on Retroviruses conf., pt 2 390
Co-trimoxazole for staph 388
Counterfeit Procrit 389
Deep salvage 390
Drug development 397
Efavirenz vs. nevirapine 389
Emtriva (FTC) approved 393
Export problem, WTO 394
Federal policy problems 392
Fosamprenavir approved 395
FTC (Emtriva) approved 393
Fundraising, online 392
FUZEON (T-20) 389
Glaxo research grants 391
Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB, and Malaria 388
Grassroots organizing 388
Heart disease guidelines 394
Highly experienced patients 390
HIV Insite 388
HIV nutrition info for doctors 391
HIV treatment guidelines, July 393
HIV treatment guidelines, November 2003 396
HIVandHepatitis.com 388
Hoffmann-La Roche, T-20 389
Huge price variations in generics 391
IAS conference reports on Web 393
International AIDS Society conf., Paris 392
Lexiva (908, Fosamprenavir) 389
Lexiva approved 395
Medicaid cuts planned 390
Medicaid organizing 388
Medscape 388
Microbicides 391
MRSA 388
NATAP 388
Nelson Mandela on HIV treatment access 393
Neuropathy treatment, new guidelines 396
Nevirapine reduced maternal transmission 394
Nevirapine toxicity 389
Nevirapine vs. efavirenz 389
Norvir price fivefold rise 397
Paris conference reports on Web 393
Pediatric HIV guidelines, November2003 396
Pharmaceutical company lobbying facts 397
Pharmacy benefits managers, profit 391
Philadelphia FIGHT 391
Planetwork conference 392
Pneumocystis still cause of death in U.S. 391
Prevention policy problems 392
Prices of drugs 391
Prison Health News 390
Prison skin infections 388
Retroviruses conference, Web coverage 388
Returning to work after disability 395
Reyataz approved 392
Safety net failure 391
SARS Web information 390
Save ADAP committee 397
Search for a Cure, clinical trials forum 395
Social network software, for fundraising 392
Social Security disability definition 392
Staph infection treatments 388
Starting antiretroviral therapy 389
Subscriptions to share 396
T-20 cost 389
TAC (Treatment Action Campaign) 390
Tenofovir+ddI+3TC failure 395
Thailand conference 2004, deadlines 395
The Body web site 388
Treatment Action Campaign 390
Treatment interruption 390
Treatment interruption 394
Triglycerides management 394
Trizivir arm stopped in trial 390
UNAIDS report for 2003 396
VaxGen's AIDSVAX trial 389
World AIDS $4.7 billion, WorldCom $35B 396
World Trade Organization rules 394
WORLD, women and HIV 391\
WTO rules limit access to poor countries 394


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Editor and Publisher: John S. James
Reader Services: Allison Dinsmore


Statement of Purpose:
AIDS TREATMENT NEWS reports on experimental and standard
treatments, especially those available now. We interview
physicians, scientists, other health professionals, and persons
with AIDS or HIV; we also collect information from meetings and
conferences, medical journals, and computer databases. Long-term
survivors have usually tried many different treatments, and
found combinations that work for them. AIDS TREATMENT NEWS does
not recommend particular therapies, but seeks to increase the
options available.

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ISSN # 1052-4207

Copyright 2004 by John S. James. Permission granted for
noncommercial reproduction, provided that our address and phone
number are included if more than short quotations are used.

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John S James
AIDS Treatment News
www.aidsnews.org