i-Base/TAG 2012 pipeline report

Not a printed supplement this time (although some of you might have picked one up at the conference) but the annual i-Base/TAG pipeline report is now published online.

The report reveals the deepening gulf between new scientific advances that make it possible to prevent, treat, and in some cases cure people living with HIV, hepatitis C virus (HCV), and tuberculosis (TB), and access to these where they are most needed.

There are many promising new candidates in the pipeline, as Simon Collins’s chapter on adult antiretrovirals reveals, with at least 15 new drugs and combinations in phase 2 and 3 studies.

And for the paediatric HIV pipeline, Polly Clayden demonstrates that some companies have also made significant progress in more rapidly developing new antiretroviral options for children living with HIV.

Richard Jefferys covers this year’s groundbreaking FDA review of Truvada for PrEP, HIV cure research, and the ongoing challenge to discover and develop safe and effective vaccines to prevent HIV transmission.

For the hepatitis C virus (HCV) Tracy Swan and Karyn Kaplan provide a sweeping overview of the exciting developments in HCV combination therapy and cure, with over 25 direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) in development for HCV.

Tuberculosis (TB) research is also livening up, particularly in TB drugs and regimens, although hardly a revolution (unlike HCV), but Erica Lessem shows significant progress in new TB drug and regimen development.

We have also launched a new website in partnership with TAG with search features and archives of previous reports.

This will be updated as new developments occur, in addition to the annual report. We will also be adding new materials – such as slide sets – and hope that it will be a useful new resource.