Med Developers Keep the Pipeline Pumping

The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America has released a report stating that 77 new medicines and vaccines are in development to fight HIV and AIDS-related conditions. 'We are greatly encouraged by the new, critically important medicines in development to treat HIV,' PhRMA president Billy Tauzin said of the report. 'PhRMA member companies are leading the search for vaccines and treatments for this terrible disease.' The PhRMA review reveals that of the 77 new medicines in development, researchers are studying 19 new vaccines and 35 antiretrovirals. Each drug either is in human clinical trials or is awaiting approval from the Food and Drug Administration. Examples of other medicines being researched include: * The first medication in the new class of integrase inhibitors has been shown to decrease viral load in patients with significant drug resistance. * A vaccine candidate combines DNA snippets from the AIDS virus with a protein that boosts immune response. The vaccine might be able to prevent infection, limit the damage that the virus causes, or a combination of both of these goals. * A medicine in development binds itself to a receptor protein found on the surface of human cells and blocks the AIDS virus from entering the cell. International organizations estimate that AIDS has killed more than 25 million people and infected an estimated 40 million worldwide. As many as 1.2 million U.S. residents are estimated to have HIV infection.