Tag Archives: HIV/AIDS

DNC Blasts Trump On World AIDS Day: He Is No Ally

Just in via press release: World AIDS Day provides us the opportunity to support those living with HIV, unite in the fight to end the HIV/AIDS epidemic, and mourn those we’ve lost. Today, we’re thinking about all the progress we’ve made, and the work still before us. This president is no ally of people living with HIV, who are disproportionately …

Read More »

$1/Day Breakthrough Generic Drug For HIV+ Children

The New York Times reports: About 80,000 babies and toddlers die of AIDS each year, mostly in Africa, in part because their medicines come in hard pills or bitter syrups that are very difficult for small children to swallow or keep down. But on Friday, the Indian generic drug manufacturer Cipla announced a new, more palatable pediatric formulation. The new …

Read More »

NYC Reports Plummeting Numbers Of New HIV Cases

The New York Daily News reports: Victory is in sight. City officials say they are on the cusp of the once unthinkable — ending the HIV/AIDS epidemic as new medicines and treatment drove down the number of new cases to a 17-year-low in 2018, Health Department stats show. And officials say it’s all thanks to the emergence of a new …

Read More »

Feds Sue Gilead Over Patents On HIV-Prevention Drugs

The New York Times reports: The Trump administration on Wednesday sued Gilead Sciences, a pharmaceutical company that sells H.I.V.-prevention drugs that can cost patients up to $20,000 a year, accusing the company of earning billions from research funded by taxpayers without paying taxpayers back. The government said the company infringed upon patents owned by the Department of Health and Human …

Read More »

CALIFORNIA: PrEP Now Available Without Prescription

The Associated Press reports: Pharmacists in California will be able to dispense HIV prevention pills to patients without a doctor’s prescription after Gov. Gavin Newsom signed legislation Monday that supporters say will greatly reduce the spread of infection. Advocates of Senate Bill 159 say that California is the first state to authorize pre-exposure prophylaxis, also called PrEP, and post-exposure prophylaxis, …

Read More »

FDA Approves Second Gilead Drug For Daily PrEP

NBC News reports: Gilead Sciences, the drug giant behind the blockbuster HIV prevention pill Truvada, won FDA approval on Thursday to market Descovy — a medication already used by those who have HIV — as its next-generation prevention drug. The final approval follows an August vote in favor of Descovy as a pre-exposure prophylaxis medication, or PrEP, by an FDA …

Read More »

CALIFORNIA: AIDS Healthcare Foundation Faces Probe Over Use Of Federal Drug Discount Funds For Lobbying

Politico reports: A California state senator has formally asked state Attorney General Xavier Becerra to investigate whether the powerhouse AIDS Healthcare Foundation is fraudulently misusing savings from a federal drug-discount program designed to help poor patients. The request comes from state Sen. Ben Hueso (D-Chula Vista), who has urged an investigation into the politically powerful organization that has dumped upwards …

Read More »

JMG Short Story: Ricky Loved Madonna

Gentle readers, today is Madonna’s 61st birthday. Below is a short story that first appeared on JMG on this day in 2006, a date which, as you’ll see, plays a role in the story. Ricky Loved Madonna Twenty years ago today, August 16th 1986, I was a few months into a new job with AMC Theatres, a position that I …

Read More »

Pastor Charged With Stealing $631K From HIV Charity

The New York Daily News reports: A Bronx pastor took money meant to help HIV-positive drug addicts and used it to jet off to the Caribbean and lavish himself with gifts, prosecutors said Wednesday. In his role as president and CEO of Addicts Rehabilitation Center Fund and the Addicts Rehabilitation Center Foundation, Rev. Reginald Williams, 67, scammed the nonprofits out …

Read More »

Pin-Sized PrEP Implant Could Block HIV For Full Year

USA Today reports: Earlier this week, Merck released the results of a small and early trial showing a prototype of a pin-sized implant could block HIV from infecting individuals for a full year. Through an upper-arm implant, the same device used to administer certain birth controls, doctors will likely be able to deliver “meaningful doses” of an experimental anti-HIV drug, …

Read More »

CDC HIV Update: Undetectable = Untransmittable

An important update to official CDC guidelines: For HIV-positive MSM, taking ART regularly greatly reduces the risk of HIV transmission to a negative partner. For persons who achieve and maintain viral suppression, there is effectively no risk of transmitting HIV to their HIV-negative sexual partner. This translates to an effectiveness estimate of 100% for taking ART regularly as prescribed and …

Read More »

Johnson & Johnson To Begin HIV Vaccine Testing

CNBC reports: Pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson is set to test an experimental HIV vaccine in the U.S. and Europe sometime this year, the company confirmed with CNBC. The experimental J&J vaccine is a mosaic-based preventative immunization that targets various strains of the HIV virus. The company is also conducting a phase 2 clinical trial for the vaccine in Africa, …

Read More »

HIV Eliminated From Living Animals For First Time

ABC News reports: Researchers at Temple University’s School of Medicine and a team at the University of Nebraska Medical Center say they have, for the first time, eliminated the DNA of HIV-1, the virus responsible for AIDS, from the genomes of living animals. The technique involves 2 new technologies: gene editing known as CRISPR and a therapy known as LASER …

Read More »

Kamala Harris Unveils Plan To Widen PrEP Availability

Politico reports: Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) released a plan Thursday that would seek to slow the spread of HIV by making a preventive drug more accessible. The plan would require that private and public insurance plans cover PrEP without a copay. In addition, insurance companies would be required to cover any tests related to PrEP. The bill also would create …

Read More »

AVAILABLE TODAY: Rainbow Warrior: My Life In Color, The Memoir Of Rainbow Flag Creator Gilbert Baker

Via press release from Chicago Review Press: The bright, exuberant colors on the rainbow flag have long been a symbol of pride and unity for the LGBTQ+ community. From the beginning of its creation, artist Gilbert Baker simply wanted to capture the joyful liberation of sexual identity. Little did he know, the flag would become an internationally recognized symbol that …

Read More »

Barbershop Must Pay $75K For Refusing HIV+ Client

Via press release from Lambda Legal: Today, Lambda Legal announced the Central District of California entered judgment for Nikko Briteramos against the owner of a Los Angeles barbershop who refused to cut Briteramos’ hair because he is living with HIV. CUT THE STIGMA, a joint public education campaign launched last year by the Black AIDS Institute and Lambda Legal, will …

Read More »

GOP Reps Defend Big Pharma At Drug Prices Hearing: The Left Is “Demonizing” Gilead For Making A Profit

The Hill reports: Republican members of Congress defended Gilead, the leading manufacturer of HIV drugs in the U.S., during a testy hearing Thursday focused on the prices of its products. “I just cannot understand why we are spending time sitting here listening to people lecturing companies about making money. I hope you make a lot of money,” Rep. Chip Roy …

Read More »

AOC Tears Into Gilead CEO: Why Does Truvada Cost Almost $2000/Month Here When It’s $8 In Australia?

The Washington Post reports: The chief executive of Gilead Sciences, the nation’s leading manufacturer of HIV drugs, insisted before a House committee Thursday that a government patent on Truvada, a key drug that prevents the infection, is invalid. “Our well-supported view is that the U.S. government does not hold valid patents on the use of Truvada for pre-exposure prophylaxis (‘PrEP’), …

Read More »

Activists File Class Action Suit Against Major Pharma Companies, Allege Conspiracy To Delay HIV Generics

STAT News reports: In a bid to maintain its dominance in the HIV market, Gilead Sciences (GILD) allegedly conspired with other drug makers whose medicines were part of a so-called combination cocktail in order to block generic competition, according to a lawsuit filed by AIDS activists and two unions. The complaint describes an unusual scheme concerning these cocktails, which are …

Read More »

BREAKING: HHS Unveils Landmark Deal With Gilead, Eleven Years Of Free PrEP For Up To 200,000 Uninsured

Via press release: Health and Human Services Secretary Alex M. Azar II announced today that, as a result of discussions between the Trump Administration and Gilead Sciences, Inc., the pharmaceutical company has agreed to donate pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) medication for up to 200,000 individuals each year for up to 11 years. PrEP is used to reduce the risk of HIV …

Read More »