New Medicines To Fight HIV/AIDS (NAPSA)—Seventy-seven new medicines and vaccines are cur- rently in development to treat HIV/AIDS and related conditions, according to a new report from the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) entitled “Medicines in Development for HIV/AIDS.” That’s important, as the Joint United Nations Pro- gramme on HIV/AIDSreports that AIDShaskilled 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. “We are very encouraged by the new,critically important New medications may mean a longer, better life for many people with HIV/AIDS in the U.S. and aroundthe world. nies are leading the search for vac- to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And the National Institutes of Health (NIH) reports that the U.S. death rate from AIDS has dropped about 70 percent. New treatments have also reduced hospitalization and the total cost of care, the 77 new drugs in development nal of Medicine study. America’s pharmaceutical research companies have con- medicines in development to treat HIV/AIDS,” said Billy Tauzin, president and CEO of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America. “PhRMA member compacines and treatments for this terrible disease.” The PhRMA report reveals that are either in humanclinical trials or awaiting approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). New HIV/AIDS medicines being researchedinclude: e The first in a new class of drugs known as_ integrase inhibitors, which has been shown to decrease viral load in patients with significant HIV drugresistance. e A vaccine that combines DNA snippets from the AIDSvirus with a protein that boosts immune response. The vaccine may prevent infection, limit the damage the virus causesor both. e A medicine that bindsitself to a receptor protein found on the surface of humancells and blocks the HIVvirus from enteringthecell. In recent years, innovative medi- cines have significantly reduced mother-to-child transmission of HIVin the United States, according according to a New England Jour- tributed more than $4.1 billion to improve health care in the develop- ing world, according to the Partner- ship for Quality Medical Donations. Projects include building HIV/AIDS clinics, AIDS education and prevention programs, programs to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV, and donations of medicines for AIDSandrelated diseases. Companies are also providing AIDS drugs at significantly reduced prices in 18 countries, according to a study by the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations. “With HIV/AIDS medicines, a disease that was once a virtual death sentence can now be controlled and treated as if it were a chronic disease,” added Tauzin. “And the new medicines our scientists are working on right now bring hope for even more promisingresults in the future.”
