I don't think the abstracts are available online, but
the home page for the 98th ICAAC is asmusa.org
On another topic, a disappointing article below, to say the least, if it is correct and the publication it was in provides reliable information.
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Roche Pharmaceuticals Dumps Substandard AIDS Therapy on Africa
11 Sep 1998
Treatment of HIV and AIDS in the industrialized world has seen recent
success with the introduction of potent combination antiviral therapies
leading to a dramatic improvement in many infected individuals. However, in
developing countries, where 90% of people with HIV live, this modern
approach using combination therapy has been out of reach.
Roche Pharmaceuticals, the Swiss based multi-national giant announced
Wednesday the donation of supplies of its widely criticized anti-HIV
medication InviraseTM to several sub-Saharan African Countries.
The company plan to provide the drug, an HIV-protease inhibitor, along with
another of it's anti-HIV treatments HividTM and Glaxo Wellcomes RetrovirTM
(AZT). Although the company is announcing "... access to state-of-the-art
HIV Treatment for Africa" the combination of drugs being provided is not
even recommended as one of the preferred drug combinations under the U.S.
Guidelines for the treatment of HIV.
Invirase has been widely criticized because of the poor absorption of it's
active ingredient saquinavir, and it's subsequent lack of potency when
compared to the other available protease inhibitors. Due to these problems
Roche had to reformulate saquinavir and have recently received approval for
marketing the improved version in Europe which has the trade name FortovaseTM.
The other Roche product being donated through the scheme, Hivid, is an
anti-HIV drug of the nuceloside analogue class, which is also no longer
widely used in the West due both to concerns over it's potency and
potential toxicity's. It is the least prescribed of the five currently
available drugs of this class.
Raffi Babakhanian, Executive Director of AIDS Treatment Project commented
that "the inferior potency of this substandard therapy could easily lead to
the widespread development of multi-drug resistant HIV in the developing
world. If there is anything we have learned from the world-wide spread of
HIV it's that what happens in one part of the world will eventually affect
other parts."
The transmission of untreatable multi-drug resistant HIV was reported in a
number of presentations during the recent World AIDS Conference in Geneva
causing widespread concern. "The last thing we need right now is the
unchecked spread of multi-drug resistant HIV world-wide" said Mr Babakhanian.
Those involved with HIV treatment are wondering why Roche would be giving
away a product which now has limited marketing potential in the developed
world at the same time as trumpeting the arrival on the European markets of
it's replacement Fortovase, dubbed by Roche as "a new formulation, a new
beginning".
AIDS Treatment Project is strongly committed to making sure pharmaceutical
companies provide all of their products to people with HIV in the
developing world. However, Roche by making available only the two most
problematic of it's anti-HIV products is exhibiting both insulting and
dangerous behaviour. Roche currently has three protease inhibitor drugs in
the market place (Fortovase, Viracept and Invirase). By only offering the
inferior Invirase this is a clear-cut case of Roche treating the Third
World as Third Class.
Author: Paul Blanchard
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AIDS Treatment Projects "Doctor Fax", issue 54, 11th September 1998.
atp.org.uk
Then go to Doctor Fax and chose the issue. Issue 54 is not online yet
AIDS Treatment Project in the United Kingdom publishes "Doctor Fax" a collection of articles and clinical trial results.
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One thing to keep in mind as far as the original formulation of Invirase, was that AIDS activists put a lot of pressure on Roche and the FDA in 1995 to gain accelerated approval for Invirase, as it was the first protease inhibitor to be approved and the only one on the market then.
Error: Viracept is not one of Roche's protease inhibitors, it is Agouron's protease inhibitor but Roche markets Viracept in Europe (and parts of Asia, so I guess as far as Europeans are concerned, Viracept is one of Roche's PI.
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