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Tobira commences cenicriviroc Phase IIb clinical trial for HIV infection

Tobira Therapeutics, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of innovative therapies for HIV, announced today that it has initiated a Phase IIb clinical trial for the CCR5/CCR2 inhibitor cenicriviroc (TBR-652).

22 Jun 2011

First Edition: June 22, 2011

Today's headlines include an exclusive AP report detailing a "twist" in the health law that would allow millions of middle class Americans -- mainly early retirees -- access to Medicaid.

22 Jun 2011

Ghana's vice president discusses country's efforts to fight HIV/AIDS

John Dramani Mahama, vice president of the Republic of Ghana, recently spoke with NPR's "Tell Me More" about how Ghana has made significant gains against HIV/AIDS, bringing the prevalence rate down to 1.5 percent from nearly 4 percent.

22 Jun 2011

'Steadfast focus' needed in fight against HIV/AIDS

Recapping the 30-year history of HIV/AIDS from an USAID perspective, Administrator Rajiv Shah writes in this "Impact blog" post, "Our work is far from done. We have a shared responsibility as a global partner to save lives by focusing on smart investments. The generosity of the American people has made sustained progress against this deadly disease possible. Closing the chapter on HIV/AIDS will require a steadfast focus on remaining gaps and challenges as we chart the way forward".

22 Jun 2011

WHO releases first-ever HIV guidelines for MSM and transgender people

The WHO on Tuesday released its first-ever HIV guidelines on men who have sex with men (MSM) and transgender people, which "urges governments to ensure gay men get equal access to HIV prevention and treatment services," the Associated Press reports.

22 Jun 2011

Scientists apply math model to HIV to discover targets for vaccines or drugs

Scientists at the Ragon Institute - a joint enterprise of Massachusetts General Hospital, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University formed in 2009 to bring together diverse disciplines to work on HIV - "using a powerful mathematical tool previously applied to the stock market have identified an Achilles heel in HIV that could be a prime target for AIDS vaccines or drugs," the Wall Street Journal reports.

22 Jun 2011

DIA recognizes CAPRISA team for outstanding achievement in HIV prevention

Today the CAPRISA 004 study leadership team is being awarded the inaugural Drug Information Association (DIA) President's Award for Outstanding Achievement in World Health.

21 Jun 2011

Do not overlook people with disabilities in HIV prevention efforts

Winstone Zulu, an adviser for AIDS-Free World and the coordinator of Health Triangle Zambia who walks with crutches because of a polio infection as a child, writes in a New York Times opinion piece that people with disabilities are rarely exposed to sex education and are almost never considered in need of information about H.I.V. and treatment for it.

21 Jun 2011

IPS examines U.N. Security Council's dealings with 'non-security' issues

Inter Press Service examines the changing scope of the U.N. Security Council.

21 Jun 2011

Government and private sector must work together on HIV vaccine

The success of antiretroviral therapy for HIV/AIDS "has fooled us into believing HIV is under control. It is not. … The fact remains that no sexually acquired infection has ever been controlled in democratic societies except by vaccines," Lawrence Corey, president and director of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and principal investigator of the international HIV Vaccine Trials Network, writes in a Wall Street Journal opinion piece.

21 Jun 2011

Michelle Obama heads to Africa

"U.S. first lady Michelle Obama left for Africa on Sunday, embarking on her second official solo journey abroad with a goal of advancing U.S. policies on education, health, and democracy," Reuters reports. Obama is due to arrive in South Africa on Monday, "where she will make stops in Johannesburg and Cape Town. Later in the week she will visit Botswana," the news service notes.

21 Jun 2011

CDT biomarker poor, inaccurate method for detecting unhealthy drinking in HIV-infected adults

Researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) have found that among HIV-infected adults with alcohol problems, measuring their carbohydrate-deficient transferrin (CDT) biomarker was a poor and inaccurate method for detecting unhealthy drinking.

21 Jun 2011

Study sheds new light on body's immune response to hepatitis A, C viruses

A surprising finding in a study comparing hepatitis C virus (HCV) with hepatitis A virus (HAV) infections in chimpanzees by a team that includes scientists from the Texas Biomedical Research Institute sheds new light on the nature of the body's immune response to these viruses.

21 Jun 2011

Public-private partnerships leading to successes in HIV treatment and prevention

The recent achievements in studies looking at treatment as prevention "were only made possible by the partnership between publicly funded scientists and private drug companies," Ward Cates, president of research at FHI; Salim Abdool Karim, director of the Centre for the AIDS Program of Research in South Africa; and Myron Cohen, director of the UNC Division of Infectious Disease and the UNC Institute for Global Health and Infectious Disease, write in an opinion piece in the Huffington Post.

21 Jun 2011

New clinical trial to evaluate safety of tenofovir gel in breastfeeding, pregnant women

Determining whether a promising HIV prevention gel is safe for women to use while they are pregnant or breastfeeding is the aim of a new clinical trial being conducted by the National Institutes of Health-funded Microbicide Trials Network.

21 Jun 2011

Viewpoints: Compromises on fixing Medicare?; 'progress' on AIDS; working families falling behind

Fixing Medicare should not compromise patient care. The president's health care bill created the controversial Independent Payment Advisory Board. This panel of unelected bureaucrats, whose sole purpose is to decide whether to offer Medicare benefits based on a budget, could lead to government rationing of care.

21 Jun 2011

Concert earns $4M milestone payment from GSK collaboration

Concert Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that it has achieved a milestone in its strategic alliance with GlaxoSmithKline for its HIV protease inhibitor development program, resulting in a $4 million milestone payment to Concert.

20 Jun 2011

Researchers identify nine blood proteins that alter with age

Loss of muscle mass is not only associated with disease, such as HIV and cancer, but also with the normal aging process. Anabolic steroids are sometimes used to reverse loss of lean muscle tissue but they can have unwanted side effects.

20 Jun 2011

Additional funding announced for PEPFAR programs in Africa

In a post on State's "DipNote" blog, U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator Ambassador Eric Goosby describes accompanying Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on her trip to Africa.

18 Jun 2011

Report outlines lessons from AIDS advocates

A new report from the consulting firm HCM Strategists and the nonprofit group FasterCures "analyzes the factors that helped patient advocates drive research into and drug development for HIV/AIDS, and tries to figure out whether there are lessons to be learned for other disease advocates," the Wall Street Journal's "Health Blog" writes.

18 Jun 2011