HIV & AIDS

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

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 LGBTQ and people of color. His administration has proposed cutting global HIV-prevention programs and attacked health care services that people living with HIV rely on, including the Affordable Care Act, Medicaid, and Planned Parenthood. Just last month, we saw firsthand just how uninformed and callous […]

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Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Donated $100 Million towards Gene Research for HIV Cure

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has teamed up with the National Institute of Health (NIH) to develop revolutionary gene-based cures for HIV and sickle cell anaemia. The billionaire couple are the most generous philanthropists in the US and have previously donated a whopping $287 million to HIV/AIDS research. They are now giving an additional $100 million which, combined with the NIH’s investment, will amount to at least $200 million over the next four years – a huge boost to researchers fighting the diseases. It’s particularly vital as scientists recently announced they have discovered a new strain of HIV for the first time in […]

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First New HIV Strain Discovered In Nearly 20 Years

For the first time in nearly two decades, a new strain of HIV has been identified, according to scientists at U.S. drugmaker Abbott Laboratories.  Mary Rodgers, a principal scientist at Abbott whose team published their findings on Wednesday in the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes, said there was no reason for the public to be excessively concerned about the newly discovered HIV subtype, which they believe to be extremely rare.  But the scientists said the discovery of the new strain — called HIV-1 Group M, subtype L — should serve as a reminder of how diverse and continually evolving […]

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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 Services, and had refused attempts by the department to license its patents and collect royalties. The company sells two drugs, Truvada and Descovy, that can be taken once daily to prevent H.I.V. infection, a strategy called pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP. Wider access […]

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FDA Approves Gilead’s Next-generation HIV PrEP Pill, Descovy

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 advisory panel. ‘Demisexual,’ ‘biromantic’: LGBTQ youth adopting wide array of labels Descovy is not yet approved for certain groups, including women who have vaginal sex, since its efficacy has not been studied in this population; for these patients, Truvada is an approved option. “Descovy for PrEP provides […]

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Unequal HIV Prevention Pill Use Puts Minority Men at Higher Risk

Fewer minority men who are at risk for HIV take a prevention pill or discuss it with their doctors, U.S. researchers say. Awareness of a pill for “preexposure prophylaxis,” or PrEP, is high for all groups of men who have sex with men. But lower proportions of black and Hispanic men, compared with white men, have actually gotten prescriptions for the drug, which is 99 percent effective at preventing HIV transmission, the study team found. Based on interviews, researchers found the disparities emerge at the point of having a discussion about PrEP with a healthcare provider. This suggests doctors can […]

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Yearly HIV Infections in San Francisco Drop to 197

Every year, the San Francisco Department of Public Health (SFDPH) publishes a comprehensive report on HIV incidence and prevalence in the city, showing HIV trends to guide the public health response. Continuing a downward trend since the peak of the HIV epidemic in the 1990s, the most recent report with 2018 data shares a historic milestone reached by the city: Fewer than 200 HIV diagnoses occurred in San Francisco. A total of 197 people were diagnosed with HIV last year in San Francisco. This is a 13% decline from 227 diagnoses made in 2017, and a 62% decline from 523 infections ten […]

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What do people think of long-acting HIV meds?

Over the years, HIV has evolved into a chronic condition necessitating life-long medication. Now, researchers are studying the efficacy and acceptability of long-acting HIV medications that may keep thevirus under control for a month or longer. Can long-acting therapies provide an alternative to daily dosing? And, what do people who stand to benefit from this way of dosing think about the possibility of not having to take daily oral medications? “HIV has been part of my life for 33 or 34 years, and medication for almost 20,” said Efrén Solanas, a long-term survivor in the Bay Area. “I’ve been taking […]

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There’s No Scientific Evidence a ‘Gay Gene’ Exists

Publication of the largest-ever study of the roles of genes in homosexual behavior is fanning the debate over whether being gay is due to genes or environment.  First reported at a genetics conference in 2018, the study found five genetic variants associated with having a same-sex sexual partner (SN: 10/20/18). But those variants, called SNPs, don’t predict people’s sexual behavior, researchers report in the Aug. 30 Science.  “There is no ‘gay gene’ that determines whether someone has same-sex partners,” says Andrea Ganna, a geneticist at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard and the University of Helsinki.  Family studies have suggested that genetics account […]

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Islatravir: A potential PrEP & HIV drug now being tested

There’s a new antiretroviral, from a new class of medication, currently being tested for both PrEP and HIV treatment. Named islatravir (formerly MK-8591), this Merck drug is showing promise as part of a novel drug delivery system and because of its long half-life, great potency and high barrier for resistance. Two presentations at the IAS 2019 conference in July shared Phase 2 study data on islatravir. Randolph Matthews, MD, PhD shared research of islatravir delivered through an under-the-skin implant, to test drug delivery at concentrations needed for the prevention of HIV. Professor Jean-Michel Molina, from Paris Diderot University, shared results from a […]

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