Protease Inhibitors Arrive

Protease Inhibitors Arrive

Treatment options take another step forward with the introduction of power HIV-fighting drugs called Protease Inhibitors. The use of these drugs in combination with existing HIV/AIDS drugs proves effective in controlling HIV. These new "triple-therapies" give patients and scientists new hope in eliminating HIV/AIDS. But that hope is dashed when a year later, scientists find HIV/AIDS "hides" in reservoirs in the body, making total elimination of the virus virtually impossible. In late 1996 data from AIDS Clinical Trials Group study 076 (ACTG 076) made it clear that Retrovir (AZT) used during pregnancy and at the time of delivery drastically reduces transmission of HIV from mother to child. Those findings led to protocols that now drastically reduce transmission from mother to child from 1 in 4 to less than 3%.

How Common is HIV Transmission from Mother to Child?

More than 15 years after the prediction there would be of an AIDS vaccine within 2 years, the first human trials in the United States of an HIV/AIDS vaccine begins. In a desperate attempt to get affordable HIV/AIDS drugs to the hardest hit areas of Africa, European drug companies ignore US patent laws and begin making generic versions of HIV/AIDS medications. In response, US drug companies file lawsuits to stop such practices. And sadly, 17 years after HIV/AIDS entered our culture, an African AIDS activist is beaten to death by neighbors after publicly admitting she was HIV infected.

The AIDS "rethinker" movement gets international attention and support when South African president Thabo Mbeki questions the use and effectiveness of HIV medications as well as offering doubt that HIV causes AIDS. In response, the international scientific community issues the Durban Declaration, offering proof that HIV and AIDS are indeed connected.

The HIV - AIDS Connection

2001

As scientists grow concerned over medication toxicity and effectiveness, US pharmaceutical companies drop their patent lawsuits, paving the way for European drug companies to manufacture and distribute cheaper HIV medications to the hardest hit areas of Sub-Saharan Africa. Cautious optimism emerges with the release of the first entry inhibitor, Fuzeon. Since 1981, 21 million people worldwide have died of AIDS, including 17 million from Sub-Saharan Africa.

• 31 million people are now living with HIV worldwide, the majority of whom are from African nations

Making Drugs Affordable

As the emphasis on simpler therapies continues, regimen pill burdens are greatly improved with the release of two new combination drugs, Truvada and Epzicom as well as two new protease inhibitors, Reyataz and Lexiva. In December, the first generic formulation of an HIV medication is approved by the FDA, instilling hope that HIV medication prices may soon come down.

The First Generic HIV Medication