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

To: Pseudo Biologist who wrote (3003)	11/26/1997 9:58:00 AM
From: Oliver & Co	Respond to of 6136

There are several important issues that this study brings up. First, it is obvious that some replication continues to take place, how much resistance is appearing is a question. Obviously not very much, otherwise their viral load would be higher. But what I think is even far more important is the fact, that 10/13 patients, the ones who were undetectable, had a substantial increase in their CD4 counts (100% of the pts with undetectable virus). This shows that although "Cure", can not be obtained (because of the CD45RO T Cells), there is an obvius improvement in the patients illness. Therefore, giving more to the idea of "Hit Hard, Hit Early". The earlier you can stop or slow down infection, the greater the "salvage" of the immune system, the less overall viral burden that is attained by the virus. Remember that HIV Disease is really a lymphoid system disease, and what we see in peripheral blood is only 5% of the viral burden. 95% is in the lymph. Also note that none of these patients were on Viracept, and the limit of detection was 500 copies, we have to see what happens to the patients under 20 copies. As always, this answers some questions, but makes many new, and far more complicated questions. JLL

To: Pseudo Biologist who wrote (3003)	11/26/1997 9:59:00 AM
From: sam	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 6136

Good news: AGPH short interest breaks 7 million mark (for the first time -- I believe). 7,087,570. 9.7% change. And at this price!

To: Pseudo Biologist who wrote (3003)	11/26/1997 11:34:00 AM
From: Henry Niman	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 6136

PB, Here's some info on worldwide population size: By Christopher Burns The Associated Press P A R I S, Nov. 26 - More than 30 million people worldwide are now living with the AIDS virus, and some 16,000 new victims are infected every day. The United Nations reports previous figures underestimated the contagion's reach by one-third. One in every 100 sexually active adults worldwide is infected with HIV, and only one in 10 knows they are infected, UNAIDS said in a report released in Paris. "The main message of our report is the AIDS epidemic is far from over. In fact, it's far worse," Peter Piot, director general of UNAIDS, said at a news conference. The report said that if current rates hold steady, the number of people infected with the immune-stripping disease "will soar to 40 million" and the impact of AIDS mortality "is only just beginning." Earlier figures on HIV infection were far lower because infections were occurring at a much more alarming rate than previously thought and calculations of HIV infection in sub-Saharan Africa were significantly underestimated, the report said. Instead of relying on regional estimates, "for the first time, we went country-to-country to see what was happening," Piot said. "The rate of transmission was grossly underestimated," especially in Nigeria and South Africa, he said. Rates are also rising in Eastern Europe, primarily due to intravenous drug users and lack of AIDS education. Education Lacking Even in the West, Piot said, "prevention efforts are insufficient for youth. I have a daughter at a school here, and what she's getting in terms of sex education is inadequate." Bernard Kouchner, the French junior minister for health, told reporters he's pressing for a world fund to fight AIDS. The report said some 5.8 million people have been infected in 1997, and an estimated 5.3 million were infected in 1996, up from the count of 3.1 million people that doctors originally estimated. The epidemic has struck youth the hardest, Piot said. "Most of them are under 25 years old." "It is estimated that 2.3 million people died of AIDS in 1997-a 50 percent increase over 1996. Nearly half of those deaths were in women, and 460,000 were in children under 15," the report said. In the developing world, AIDS is wiping out gains in life expectancy made in recent decades. The report paints a devastating picture of AIDS-ravaged sub-Saharan Africa, with 7.4 percent of people ages 15 to 49 thought to be infected. Robbing the Future Among the stark African news, the report said that: - The number of HIV-infected people in Botswana has doubled over the past five years, to 25 percent to 30 percent of the adult population. AIDS has wiped out gains in life expectancy, which had risen from under 43 years in 1955 to 61 years in 1990. - One in five adults in Zimbabwe was HIV-positive in 1996, and in one town with a large population of migrant workers, seven of 10 pregnant women were HIV-positive in 1995. - Twenty-five percent more infants are dying in Zambia and Zimbabwe than would be the case if there were no HIV. AIDS is expected to push Zimbabwe's infant mortality rate up 138 percent by 2010. The report didn't say what the current rate is. Asia's AIDS epidemic is more recent than Africa's, the report said, though India's 3 million to 5 million HIV-infected people make it the country with the most HIV-infected people in the world.