Elite Controller Study Announced
Research Shows Gene Therapy Controls HIV
Pfizer Announces Assistance Program
CHAMP Calls for Grassroots Action!
Elite Controller Study Announced
Bob Munk, founder of AIDSInfoNet and a member of the AIDS Treatment Activists Coalition (ATAC), reports that Massachusetts General Hospital and the Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and Harvard have announced the start of the International HIV Controllers Study. Together with over 300 collaborators throughout the U.S., Europe, Australia, Africa and South America, Dr. Florencia Pereyra and Dr. Bruce Walker will conduct the study.
Notices were sent to AIDS organizations to enlist help in recruiting potential participants in the study, people who consistently maintain a viral load below 2,000 copies/ml in the absence of antiretroviral therapy. The researchers conducting the study will divide these patients into two distinct categories:
- “Elite Controllers” are persons who maintain viral loads of less than 50 RNA copies/ml plasma for at least 12 months in the absence of therapy.
- “Viremic Controllers” are persons who maintain viral loads of between 50-2,000 RNA copies/ml for at least 12 months in the absence of therapy.
According to Dr. Walker, “We believe understanding how these individuals are able to naturally suppress viral load may be a critical step in developing an HIV vaccine and improving treatment options.”
For more information on the study, visit www.hivcontrollers.org
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Research Shows Gene Therapy Controls HIV
The American Society of Gene Therapy’s (ASGT) Annual Meeting is the world's largest scientific meeting surrounding the latest developments in gene and cell therapy. This year’s 12th Annual Meeting, held on May 30, was attended by nearly 2,000 researchers from around the world and featured more than 60 scientific presentations.
At one of the presentations, results from a recent study revealed that stem cells containing protective genes may provide permanent control of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in infected individuals. Researchers demonstrated that a hematopoietic stem cell therapy could safely and effectively provide long-lasting control of HIV."This study was the first phase II randomized, controlled, double-blind study for cell-delivered HIV gene therapy and the first controlled HIV gene therapy study to show positive impact on viral load and CD4 count," said Geoff Symonds, PhD, senior research director at Calimmune, Inc. "This study is a major advance in the field and it paves the way for future treatment with this new therapeutic paradigm."
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Pfizer Announces Assistance Program
Pfizer Inc. recently announced a patient assistance program called MAINTAIN (Medicines Assistance for Those who Are in Need), to help unemployed people who have lost their health insurance maintain access to their Pfizer medicines. The program will allow qualifying patients and their families to receive up to a year’s supply of Pfizer medicines at no charge.
There are specific eligibility requirements. For more information about the program, call 1-866-706-2400 or visit http://www.pfizerhelpfulanswers.com/.
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CHAMP Calls for Grassroots Action!
In an e-mail call for action, CHAMP (Community HIV/AIDS Mobilization Project) stated that “health care reform is one of the most important issues affecting the HIV/AIDS community and HIV prevention right now.” The following are two issues they feel must be included by Congress in any health care reform policy:
- Eliminating the Medicaid disability requirement and ensuring that all low-income people have early access to affordable, quality care through Medicaid.
This will give approximately 42% of currently uninsured people living with HIV immediate access to health care and yet, CHAMP says, “there are increasing signs that some members of Congress are backpedaling on this important goal by excluding childless adults.” - Expanding access to Medicaid for higher-income people living with HIV by having Early Treatment for HIV Act (ETHA) language included in health care reform.
This will give states the option to expand coverage for people living with HIV/AIDS, reaching more than 75% who are currently uninsured. However, CHAMP warns, “there are strong indications that Congress may not include this provision in health care reform.
Noting the need for both provisions to be a part of health care reform, CHAMP urges, “This is a crisis situation that demands immediate attention and increased advocacy.”
Call or write your senators and representatives to let them know how crucial these issues are to the lives of people living with HIV.
Visit www.champnetwork.org.
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