77 New Medicines Now in Development for HIV/AIDS

77 New Medicines Now in Development for HIV/AIDS

December 19, 2006

    WASHINGTON, Nov. 30 /PRNewswire/ -- Seventy-seven new
medicines and
vaccines are in development to treat HIV/AIDS and related
conditions,
according to a survey released today by the Pharmaceutical
Research and
Manufacturers of America (PhRMA).

    (Photo:
http://211.154.41.99:9080/xprn/sa/200612011122.gif )

    Recent reports show AIDS has killed more than 25
million people and
infected an estimated 40 million people worldwide. As many
as 1.2 million
U.S. residents are estimated to have HIV infection.
    "We are greatly encouraged by the new,
critically-important medicines
in development to treat HIV/AIDS," said PhRMA
President and CEO Billy
Tauzin. "PhRMA member companies are leading the search
for vaccines and
treatments for this terrible disease."
    PhRMA's survey reveals that of the 77 new medicines in
development,
researchers are studying 19 new vaccines and 35 antivirals.
These drugs are
either in human clinical trials or are awaiting approval
from the Food and
Drug Administration (FDA).
    Examples of other new HIV/AIDS medicines being
researched include:

    * One medicine, the first in a new class of drugs known
as integrase
      inhibitors, has been shown to decrease viral load in
patients with
      significant HIV drug resistance.

    * A vaccine combines DNA snippets from the AIDS virus
with a protein that
      boosts immune response. The vaccine may prevent
infection, limit the
      damage the virus causes, or both.

    * A medicine in development binds itself to a receptor
protein found on
      the surface of human cells and blocks the HIV virus
from entering the
      cell.
    The survey also notes that 88 medicines to treat
HIV/AIDS and related
conditions 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 six 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.
    Since the early 1990s, medicines also have
significantly reduced
mother- to-child transmission of HIV in the United States,
according to the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And the
National Institutes of
Health (NIH) report that since the mid-1990s, when the
first protease
inhibitors (a class of anti-HIV drugs that prevent
HIV-infected cells from
producing new copies of the virus) were launched and
combination drug
therapy was introduced, the U.S. death rate from AIDS has
dropped about 70
percent. New treatments have also reduced hospitalization
and the total
cost of care, according to a 2001 New England Journal of
Medicine study.
    Despite astounding progress, AIDS remains a devastating
and growing
worldwide health problem in developing countries, and
particularly in sub-
Saharan Africa, China, Russia and India. An estimated 38.6
million people
worldwide were living with HIV at the end of 2005, with an
estimated 4.1
million people becoming newly infected with HIV last year,
according to the
United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS).
    From 1998 to 2004, pharmaceutical companies have
contributed more than
$4.1 billion to improve health care in the developing
world, according to
the Partnership 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 AIDS and related diseases. Companies also are providing
AIDS drugs at
significantly reduced prices in 18 countries.
    "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 promising results in
the future."
    To read the report on the PhRMA Web site, click on the
following link:
http://www.phrma.org/news_room/
    The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of
America (PhRMA)
represents the country's leading pharmaceutical research
and biotechnology
companies, which are devoted to inventing medicines that
allow patients to
live longer, healthier, and more productive lives. PhRMA
companies are
leading the way in the search for new cures. PhRMA members
alone invested
an estimated $39.4 billion in 2005 in discovering and
developing new
medicines. Industry- wide research and investment reached a
record $51.3
billion in 2005.
    PhRMA Internet Address: http://www.phrma.org
    For information on how innovative medicines save lives,
visit:
http://www.innovation.org
    For information on the Partnership for Prescription
Assistance, visit:
http://www.pparx.org
    For information on the danger of imported drugs, visit:
http://www.buysafedrugs.info





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