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Biotech / Medical : Agouron Pharmaceuticals (AGPH) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Izzy who wrote (2785)	11/14/1997 5:04:00 PM
From: JOHN W.	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 6136

Subject: Pharmacology Date: Fri, Nov 14, 1997 09:33 EST From: LMoss Message-id: <19971114143300.JAA16195@ladder01.news.aol.com> Contrary to a statement posted recently, Fortovase is indeed saquinavir, but in a soft gel formulation. The purpose of the new formulation is to slow down its release in the body, where it is quickly metabolized by the liver. In its original formulation, only about 4% of ingested saquinavir was biologically effective, and rapid metabolization reduced serum concentrations below those thought to be necessary during part of the day. Accordingly, saquinavir was not one of the protease inhibitors recommended by the NIH panel for HAART treatment of HIV. The soft gel formulation will increase bioavailability to about 14%, and moderate the sharp peak-and-valley concentration produced by the original formulation. Another approach is to slow down the rate of metabolization of saquinavir. One of the drugs that happens to do this is Viracept. Taken with saquinavir, it increases the bioavailability of the latter to about 20%. Taken with saq's soft-gel formulation (Fortovase) it should do even better. That is one reason this combination may prove to be the PI treatment of choice. LMoss

To: Izzy who wrote (2785)	11/14/1997 5:06:00 PM
From: JOHN W.	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 6136

Subject: BI wants to dance Date: Fri, Nov 14, 1997 16:03 EST From: Taurus8266 Message-id: <19971114210301.QAA16159@ladder02.news.aol.com> Study Under Way to Investigate Three-Drug Alternative Authors: Richard S. Ferri, PhD, ANP, ACRN, Richard L. Witt, PA-C, Victoria L. Sharp, MD [Clinician Reviews 7(10):103-104, 1997. c 1997 Clinicians Publishing Group and Williams & Wilkins.] A new open-label clinical trial exploring drug interactions and antiviral activity with therapy combining nevirapine, nelfinavir, and stavudine opened recently. It is being conducted at two major medical centers--Roger Williams Hospital in Providence, RI, and HIVCare at Saint Francis Memorial Hospital in San Francisco, Calif. Eligible patients are HIV-1-infected adults who have not yet taken protease inhibitors or nonnucleoside RTIs, and have taken stavudine for less than 6 months or not at all. Other criteria include CD4+ T-cell counts >100 cells/mm3, and HIV-1 RNA concentrations >5,000 copies/mL. Patients who meet these qualifications and have failed to respond to zidovudine and lamivudine will also be eligible for enrollment. The potential pharmacokinetic interaction between nevirapine and nelfinavir in HIV-1-infected adults treated with stavudine will be investigated in the first part of the trial. In the second, the long-term antiviral effect of the three-drug combination on viral load as measured by HIV-1 RNA will be evaluated. In addition, CD4+/CD8+ T-cell counts and percentages will be employed to measure immunologic parameters. The efficacy of the trial treatment will be evaluated during a 1-year follow-up period. The trial medications and continuing viral load and CD4+ T-cell count testing are provided without charge. This is not a placebo-controlled trial, and all participants will receive all three drugs. Participants will be enrolled in the study for as long as the drug therapy suppresses HIV-1 below the level of detection. This clinical trial is a collaborative effort by Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc, makers of nevirapine; Agouron Pharmaceuticals, Inc, makers of nelfinavir; and Bristol-Myers Squibb Immunology, makers of stavudine. Healthcare professionals and HIV-1-infected adults who are interested in this clinical trial should call Gail Skowron, MD, at (401) 456-2437, or Sher Vieira at (415) 353-6215. Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc.