Toward More Effective Drugs, Vaccines For Fighting HIV - Chemical And Engineering News

Main Category: HIV / AIDS
Also Included In: Immune System / Vaccines
Article Date: 22 Sep 2008 - 12:00 PDT

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Researchers are reporting progress toward a wave of new drugs and vaccines that could significantly improve the health and lifespan of millions infected with or at risk for HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, according to an article scheduled for the Sept. 22 issue of Chemical & Engineering News, ACS' weekly newsmagazine. The findings offer hope for the estimated 33 million people worldwide who are currently infected with the virus.

In the C&EN cover story, Senior Correspondent Ann Thayer notes that when HIV was first identified almost 25 years ago, the life expectancy of an infected person was only about one year. Today, with more than 20 so-called antiretroviral drugs now available to treat the disease, an infected person can expect to live many years, at least in developed countries. With new insights into how the virus works in the body, pharmaceutical companies are now attempting to develop even more effective drugs that are safer and easier to use.

While there's still no cure for the disease, Thayer notes in a companion article in C&EN, researchers are working hard to develop an effective HIV vaccine, considered the ultimate way to prevent infection. But there's still a lot to learn about the virus itself and the human body's response, as setbacks in recent clinical trials have shown, according to the article. "Failure is the norm in product development, particularly for something as difficult as HIV," notes one researcher.

Article: "New Antiretrovirals Change HIV Treatment"
This story will be available on Sept. 22 at http://pubs.acs.org/cen/coverstory/86/8638cover.html

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