3 August 2006

Contents

Treatment alerts

• Dear Doctor letter issued in the U.S. relating to 14 reports of intracranial haemorrhage (ICH) events with tipranavir/r

Conference reports

• 15th International Drug Resistance Workshop, 13-17 June 2006, Sitges, Spain

• Resistance implications of monotherapy with lopinavir/r (Kaletra)

• Ritonavir reduces virological failure and resistance in treatment naive patients treated with atazanavir

• Resistance to darunavir (TMC-114): predicting responses for treatment experienced patients

• Epidemiological studies and transmission of resistance: evidence for optimism – or issues with interpretation?

• K103N containing variants persist longer in women with subtype D and with higher viral loads

• No subtype-based differences in baseline levels of K103N-containing variants in women receiving single dose nevirapine

• Phenotypic NNRTI resistance and genetic diversity in antiretroviral naive women

• High prevalence of the K65R mutation in Botswana patients treated with ddI/d4T-based regimens

• Potential for easier selection of K65R mutation with tenofovir pressure in subtype C HIV-1 isolates

• Categorisation of transmitted HIV drug resistance using the WHO/CDC HIV drug resistance threshold survey method may be useful in resource limited settings

• Limitations in online tools to identify HIV-1 subtypes

• Resistance implications from PrEP and microbicide studies in macaques

• Low-level resistance linked to treatment failure: a role for more sensitive testing for naive patients

• Testing for resistance after starting treatment

Antiretrovirals

• New formulation of lopinavir/r approved in Europe (Kaletra) and new tradename for access countries (Aluvia)

• US approval for darunavir (TMC-114, Prezista)

• Boehringer stops tipranavir trial in treatment-naive patients

• FDA approves fixed-dose combination of efavirenz/tenofovir/FTC (Atripla): joint company collaboration produces once-daily one pill combination

• Evidence that CCR5 is protective against West Nile virus: implications for CCR5 inhibitors

Treatment access

• Activists meet with Gilead and Abbott over access to second-line therapy

• Data exclusivity: a new threat to affordable generic medicines

Guidelines

• Updated US perinatal guidelines (2006)

Hepatitis coinfection

• Efficacy of treatment of acute hepatiitis C in patients with HIV infection

Other news

• HIV transmission, the law and the work of the clinical team: draft recommendations for comment

• FDA adds last minute clause into package of patient reforms that protects pharmaceutical industry from litigation in cases of side effects

On the web

• Full journal articles with free access and online medical resources

• Advocacy campaign tools online