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

To: James Baker who wrote (3574)	1/10/1998 12:16:00 PM
From: JOHN W.	Respond to of 6136

Friday January 9 7:34 PM EST California AIDS deaths plummet 60 percent By LIDIA WASOWICZ UPI Science Writer SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 9 (UPI) _ The first half of 1997 saw a whopping 60 percent plunge in AIDS deaths in California. The stunning statistics were released in a study by the California Department of Health Services. Doctors attribute the dramatic decline primarily to new anti-viral drugs and, to a lesser extent, increased safe sex practices. The state records show 1,112 California residents died of acquired immune deficiency syndrome, or AIDS, in the first six months of 1997. That compares to 2,788 who perished in the same period the previous year. Nationally, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta reports a 23 percent drop in AIDS deaths between 1995 and 1996. Wayne Sausada, director of the California Office of AIDS, tells UPI several factors were at work _ but one appears to stand above the rest. In his words, ''Very clearly, a major factor has been the substantial investment that California and the federal government have been making to provide access to new therapies,'' particularly anti-viral drugs called protease inhibitors. Richard Selick of the CDC agrees the newly released figures point to the impact of protease inhibitors, which are taken in combination with older AIDS therapies, such as AZT. To a lesser degree, researchers also attribute the decrease in deaths from the disease, which in most cases is transmitted sexually, to more people acting more responsibly in the bedroom. Says Sousada, ''It is terribly exciting to see this dramatic change. It's one thing to be excited when you see these statistics on paper; it's tremendously more satistifying when you think of the individuals with whom you work and associate on a daily basis who are still alive and healthier than they would have been without the research advances and the funding we invested.'' While availability of the new drugs varies from state to state, California has made a major effort to make the therapies accessible to anyone who needs them. In his budget proposal today, Calif. Gov. Pete Wilson called for a $35.9 million increase in funding for the state's AIDS Drug Assistance Program for 1998. Matt Aquilera, principal program budget analyst, tells UPI that would bring to about $130 million the federal and state monies allocated to the program. The program provides the medicines free, or at limited cost, to those with adjusted gross incomes of less than $50,000 a year. The drugs can cost as much as $12,000 a year. Researchers caution they remain uncertain whether the effects of the protease inhibitors are long-term and whether the hopeful trends will last. Says Sausada, ''Everyone is still holding his breath. While we're tremendously encouraged, we're keeping our fingers crossed on both hands. We continue to monitor what's happening with protease inhibitors. We know there is concern the effects might not be long-lasting; we hope they are.'' Sausada says researchers first caught sight of the downward trend some six months ago in state statistics routinely published twice a year. He says the latest figures, released ''a bit early'' at the request of The San Francisco Chronicle, carry a far more convincing message of optimism. _