2001

WHO Study Tallies Cost Of Disease in Poor Nations: Wall Street Journal - December 21, 2001; Mark Schoofs, Staff Reporter; After epic rains drenched wide swaths of southern Africa last year, swelling the waterholes that breed mosquitoes, a tiny rural village near Dobe, Botswana , suffered a particularly bad malaria season. Practically every family had at least one person resting under a tree wrapped in blankets. That village amounted t
South Africa to Soldier On in Fight Over Pregnant Women With HIV: Wall Street Journal - December 20, 2001; Robert Block, Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal; JOHANNESBURG, South Africa -- In a move likely to raise new concerns over South Africa s AIDS policy, the government announced that it would appeal a court ruling compelling it to provide antiretroviral drugs to pregnant women infected with the virus that causes AIDS. We have instructed our legal counsel to appeal the
Owners of Key Patent Hold Up Availability of Rapid HIV Test: Wall Street Journal - December 20, 2001; Geeta Anand, Staff Reporter; BALTIMORE -- Robin Norris opened her mouth to allow a health worker to insert a white-tipped stick between her gum and cheek. Ms. Norris, an unemployed 39-year-old, said she had been having unprotected sex, sometimes while drunk. She had checked into an alcohol-treatment program two weeks earlier and now, sober, had su
AIDS Epidemic Spreads Unchecked Through Another Chinese Province: Wall Street Journal - December 19, 2001; Leslie Chang, Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal; LUOYUGOU VILLAGE, China -- Chen Sufang, a farmer and the mother of three teenagers, fell ill last year with headaches, cough and fever that wouldn t go away. Local health authorities visited her twice, but didn t say what the problem was. In June, Ms. Chen, 36 years old, died of what villagers in this southeast corner
Groups Commit $50 Million to Program To Help Cut Mother-Child AIDS Cases: Wall Street Journal - December 7, 2001; David Bank, Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal; Eight philanthropic foundations have committed more than $50 million for a pilot program to reduce mother-to-child transmission of the AIDS virus in developing countries by treating mothers in addition to their newborns. The foundations, which are expected to announce the initiative Friday, intend to eventually raise $
China Wants to Set Drug-Price Caps, Angering Pharmaceutical Companies: Wall Street Journal - December 3, 2001; Leslie Chang and Karby Leggett, Staff Reporters; Chinese officials want to impose price caps on the drug industry, upsetting pharmaceutical companies who say it is a misguided effort to fix China s ailing health-care network. The State Development Planning Commission, which sets drug prices, wants to impose a ceiling on the prices companies can charge for both import
Merck Cuts Price for AIDs Drugs; It Sells in China by About a Third: Wall Street Journal - December 3, 2001; Leslie Chang, Staff Reporter; BEIJING -- Merck & Co. is cutting prices for two AIDS drugs it sells in China , a first for a country that is only starting to face up to its burgeoning epidemic. The U.S. pharmaceutical maker said it will cut by a third the wholesale prices for two of its drugs,
Holbrooke Enlists Multinational Firms To Battle AIDS Among Their Workers: Wall Street Journal - November 30, 2001; Mark Schoofs, Staff Reporter; Richard Holbrooke made peace in Bosnia and used his term as the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations to get the Security Council to address the AIDS epidemic. Now he has taken on another daunting assignment: enlisting multinational companies that do business in Africa and other AIDS-wracked regions to deal with the di
Ugandan Families Must Decide if Wife Or Husband Will Get Medicine for HIV: The Wall Street -- November 30, 2001; Rachel Zimmerman, Staff Reporter; KAMPALA, UGANDA -- Sebasore Sadick, a slender, soft-spoken man, became infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, as a soldier in the Ugandan Army. He suffered from bouts of malaria, night sweats and exhaustion. But after the results of his AIDS test came back positive, he was too ashamed to tell his wife. He kept
China Companies May Use Patent Law To Produce Cheap Drugs to Fight AIDS: Wall Street Journal - November 15, 2001; Leslie Chang, Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal; SHANGHAI, China -- Two Chinese drug companies have applied to produce AIDS drugs, seeking to take advantage of China s inconsistent patent laws in a development that could transform the way the country battles a looming epidemic. Until now, China has lagged developing-world nations -- among them
AOL Rejects San Francisco Doctor's Plea For Syphilis Alert in Online Chat Rooms: Wall Street Journal - November 15, 2001; Julia Angwin, Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal; Two years ago, Dr. Jeffrey D. Klausner started noticing a pattern among gay men seeking treatment for syphilis at his San Francisco clinic: Many of them met their sexual partners in an America Online chat room. Eventually, Dr. Klausner, the director of sexually-transmitted-disease prevention for the city s Department o
New Kind of Vaccine May Solve Key Problem in the AIDS Battle: Wall Street Journal - November 1, 2001; Mark Schoofs, Staff Reporter; A new kind of experimental HIV vaccine protected some monkeys from getting sick with AIDS and suggests a potential solution to one of the most vexing dilemmas facing AIDS-vaccine makers. But the way the experiment was designed leaves some critical questions unanswered. The study, being reported in this month s edition
FDA Approves Gilead's Viread For Treatment of HIV Infection: Wall Street Journal - October 26, 2001; FOSTER CITY, Calif. -- Gilead Sciences Inc. received U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval for its antiretroviral agent Viread ( tenofovir disoproxil fumarate) for the treatment of HIV infection when taken in combination with other antiretroviral agents.
Glaxo to Allow South African Firm To Produce, Market Its AIDS Drugs: Wall Street Journal - October 8, 2001; Rachel Zimmerman, Staff Reporter; In a move likely to have a broad impact on pharmaceutical-industry economics in developing-world markets, pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline PLC says it will allow a generic-drug maker in South Africa to produce and market three of Glaxo s patent-protected AIDS medicines. Under the deal, announced in South Africa
FDA Panel Supports Approval Of Gilead's New Drug for HIV: Wall Street Journal - October 4, 2001; David P. Hamilton, Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal; An advisory panel to the Food and Drug Administration supported approval of Viread , a new HIV drug from Gilead Sciences Inc., although it split on whether to recommend the drug to all AIDS patients or merely those who have failed other courses of therapy. The panel didn t take a formal vote but voiced support for
Boehringer, Axios Begin to Distribute No-Cost HIV/AIDS Drugs in Africa: Wall Street Journal - September 7, 2001; Michael Waldholz, Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal; Boehringer-Ingelheim GmbH, the German drug company, finally figured out a way to get its offer of no-cost HIV/AIDS drugs to health programs in Africa and other poor nations and has begun shipping 50,000 doses of its drug. Last year, the company said it will provide its drug, Viramune , free of char
Yale University Team Develops An Experimental AIDS Vaccine: Wall Street Journal - September 7, 2001; Mark Schoofs, Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal; PHILADELPHIA -- A husband-and-wife team from Yale University has developed an experimental AIDS vaccine that has protected monkeys from getting sick, adding to an array of promising candidate vaccines against the world-wide killer. Wyeth Lederle Vaccines, a unit of American Home Products Corp., has acquired the intelle
Studies Suggest Hepatitis-Like Virus May Prolong Lives of HIV Patients: Wall Street Journal - September 6, 2001; Laura Johannes, Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal; A little-known, apparently harmless hepatitis-like virus has demonstrated a remarkable ability to stall replication of the AIDS virus and prolong the lives of HIV-positive patients, according to studies by two separate academic research teams. The findings, by scientists at the University of Iowa and Medizinische Hochs
U.S. Official Praises China For Approach in AIDS Fight: Drastic Steps Are Urged To Ward Off Epidemic: Wall Street Journal - August 31, 2001; Leslie Chang, Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal; BEIJING -- A top U.S. government expert on AIDS praised Beijing s newfound openness in confronting the disease, but warned that without drastic measures the country has a window of only several years before a catastrophic epidemic hits. Helene Gayle, director of a center studying HIV, sexually transmitted diseases and
Northfield Applies for FDA Approval Of Human Blood-Substitute Product: Wall Street Journal - August 29, 2001; Thomas M. Burton, Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal; Northfield Laboratories Inc. said it submitted an application to the Food and Drug Administration for possible approval of its oxygen-carrying blood-substitute product, called PolyHeme, for use in human patients. The move by Northfield, Evanston, Ill., makes it the first company to file with the U.S. government in the
Brazil to Break Roche's Patent on AIDS Medication Nelfinavir: Wall Street Journal - August 23, 2001; Miriam Jordan, Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal; SAO PAULO, Brazil -- Brazil announced that it plans to copy an AIDS medication patented by Roche Holding Ltd., signaling its determination to keep pressure on multinational companies to lower drug prices. Health Minister Jose Serra said a state-owned laboratory will begin production of Roche s
AIDS Group to Take South Africa to Court Over Pregnancy Care: Wall Street Journal - August 22, 2001; Robert Block, Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal; The AIDS activists who championed South Africa in its landmark court battle against the pharmaceutical giants earlier this year said they plan to take the government of President Thabo Mbeki to court over its failure to provide anti-AIDS drugs to pregnant women. The lawsuit puts South Africa s controversial AIDS policy
Leprosy Remains a Foe in Country Winning the Fight Against AIDS: Wall Street Journal - August 20, 2001; Miriam Jordan, Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal; SOBRAL, BRAZIL -- Folk healer Maria Julia Costa da Silva prays to alleviate back pain, heartache and other ailments troubling her neighbors in an impoverished quarter of this northeastern town. Local lore holds that folk healers can be as effective as modern medicine. But recently, Mrs. Costa, 54, has been telling some
AIDS Epidemic May Have Stabilized, But Prevention Is Still Key, CDC Says: Wall Street Journal - August 14, 2001; Ron Winslow, Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal; Public-health officials presented new data suggesting that the AIDS epidemic in the U.S. has stabilized, but they warned of a potential resurgence unless efforts to prevent its spread are intensified. About 20,000 new AIDS cases were reported during the first six months of last year, for an annual rate of about 40,000,
Field Tests of Generic AIDS Drugs: In Africa, India May Impact Millions: Wall Street Journal - August 2, 2001; Jesse Pesta and Mark Schoofs, Staff Reporters of The Wall Street Journal; NEW DELHI -- Generic AIDS drugs, which have stirred controversy even while offering a potent new weapon in the battle against the disease in poor countries, will soon face several key field tests in Africa and India . Nigeria , Africa s most populous country, this week announced a plan to use cheap generic drugs starti
Annan Looks to Developing World For Head of Global Health Fund: Wall Street Journal - July 23, 2001; Michael M. Phillips and Rachel Zimmerman, Staff Reporters of The Wall Street Journal; United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan is considering a short-list of candidates from the developing world to take charge of setting up the global fund aimed at fighting AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. President Bush and other leaders of the world s major economies formally launched the fund last week at their sum
Report Questions Condoms' Efficacy In Reducing Risk of Some Infections: Wall Street Journal - July 20, 2001; Laurie McGinley, Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal; WASHINGTON -- A new federal report says that, at least for now, there isn t conclusive evidence that condoms reduce the risk of infection by the human papillomavirus and several other sexually transmitted diseases. The National Institutes of Health report, to be released Friday, concludes that more research is needed t
Bristol-Myers Offers Not to Sue Firm Seeking to Make AIDS Drugs for Africa: Wall Street Journal - July 19, 2001; Rachel Zimmerman, Robert Block and Daniel Pearl, Staff Reporters of The Wall Street Journal; Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., responding to criticism over the high price of its AIDS drugs in poor countries, could become the first big pharmaceutical company formally to allow a generic-drug maker to manufacture and sell patented AIDS drugs in sub-Saharan Africa if a deal it is proffering pans out. In a letter fax
Tanzanian Military Helped Company Skirt Drug Regulations to Test Virodene: Wall Street Journal - July 19, 2001; Mark Schoofs, Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal; DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania -- A pair of South Africans whose attempts to test an experimental AIDS drug caused an uproar in 1997 have quietly tested the compound on humans here with the help of the Tanzanian police and military. The experimental drug, Virodene P058, is purified from an industrial solvent known as dimethyl
Animal Rescuer Comes Across Humans Left to Die From AIDS: Wall Street Journal - July 9, 2001; Robert Block, Staff Reporter; KAGISO, South Africa -- Cora Bailey drives her maroon pickup truck through a garbage dump here once a week searching for sick, neglected dogs and cats. Sometimes, the 49-year-old animal-rights activist finds sick, neglected people, instead. Two years ago it was Julia, a shivering skeleton of a woman found wrapped in ne
International Commentary: The S-Word: Wall Street Journal - June 29, 2001; One of the most impressive health achievements of the latter 20th century was accomplished not with pharmaceuticals but with individual self-control and plenty of latex. When AIDS first took off in the 1980s, the disease seemed destined to virtually wipe out gays in America. But after enough homosexuals watched friends
Commentary: U.N. AIDS Conference Avoids the Real Issues: Wall Street Journal - June 28, 2001; George B.N. Ayittey*; The toll of AIDS on sub-Saharan Africa is at once incomprehensible and chilling. As a succession of African leaders have reminded us this week at the United Nations AIDS conference in New York, seven out of 10 people living with AIDS in the world are Africans. Twenty-five million Africans are infected, and 90% of them
South Africa Won't Provide AIDS Drugs in Hospitals: Wall Street Journal - June 28, 2001; Mark Schoofs; NEW YORK -- Surprising AIDS doctors and activists in her own country, the South African health minister declared that her nation will not provide AIDS drugs in public hospitals unless it can provide exactly the same standard of care as offered in Western nations. Her stance goes against the grain of new research and tr
AIDS Fight May Spur Some Progress in Africa: Wall Street Jounral - June 28, 2001; Michael M. Phillips, Staff Reporter; KAMPALA, Uganda -- The AIDS plague is wreaking havoc on sub-Saharan Africa, destroying lives and stunting economic progress on a continent that already has more than its share of trouble. But, ironically, the epidemic also is providing African governments and societies an opportunity to pull themselves together in ways
The U.N. Plots a War on AIDS That Focuses on Poorer Nations; Special Session Sets First Targets From Body for Fighting Disease: Wall Street Journal - June 28, 2001; Rachel Zimmerman, Staff Reporter; NEW YORK -- In a strongly worded, 15-page statement, the United Nations General Assembly passed its first targets for member states to follow in fighting the HIV/AIDS pandemic. -Logistics of Global Health Fund Cause Struggle for U.N. Delegates (June 27) -U.N. AIDS Conference Is Hampered by Debate Over Groups Participat
Logistics of Global Health Fund Cause Struggle for U.N. Delegates: Wall Street Journal - June 27, 2001; Rachel Zimmerman and Gardiner Harris; NEW YORK -- As world leaders publicly spoke of the horrors of AIDS at a special United Nations session here Tuesday, delegates behind the scenes were struggling over the logistics of a global health fund created to fight the disease in poor countries. On the second day of a historic U.N. general assembly on HIV/AIDS, m
White House Drops WTO Claim Against Brazilian Patent Law: Wall Street Journal - June 26, 2001; Helene Cooper, Staff Reporter; WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration, seeking to mute criticism from AIDS activists and developing countries, dropped its World Trade Organization complaint against a Brazilian patent law aimed at providing the poor with greater access to medicines. In exchange, Brazil agreed to give advance notice to American officia
U.N. AIDS Conference Is Hampered By Debate Over Groups' Participation: Wall Street Journal - June 26, 2001; Rachel Zimmerman and Gardiner Harris, Staff Reporters; NEW YORK -- Financial commitments to a new global AIDS fund trickled in Monday at the United Nations first General Assembly devoted exclusively to the epidemic, but the $530.2 million total raised so far is still well short of the billions the U.N. is calling for to fight the disease. The meeting, which was planned to
African Gold Giant Finds History Undermines a Fight Against AIDS: Wall Street Journal - June 26, 2001; Mark Schoofs, Staff Reporter; CARLETONVILLE, South Africa -- Gold miner Patrick Jikazi spent the day more than two miles underground in the world s deepest mine, TauTona, which is owned by the world s largest gold-mining company, AngloGold Ltd. Finally off duty, he couldn t relax with his wife and children, because they live a 10-hour bus trip away
South African President to Visit Merck Labs for View of HIV Work: Wall Street Journal - June 21, 2001; Gardiner Harris, Staff Reporter; South African President Thabo Mbeki, who questions whether HIV causes AIDS, is scheduled to visit Merck & Co. s research labs in West Point, Pa., next week to learn about its HIV-vaccine work. Mr. Mbeki s doubts about HIV have led to his questioning whether his citizens should bother getting themselves tested for H
The Gates Foundation Answers Plea Of Annan With $100 Million Pledge: Wall Street Journal - June 20, 2001; David Bank, Gautam Naik and Rachel Zimmerman; When U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan appeared before leading philanthropists in April to drum up contributors to his proposed global AIDS fund, he singled out the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, praising it for doing very exciting things in the vital area of prevention. Perhaps he should have mentioned a few mor
Coca-Cola to Tap Its Marketing Muscle To Help Fight AIDS Epidemic in Africa: Wall Street Journal - June 20, 2001; Betsy McKay, Staff Reporter; Condoms on Coke trucks? It could soon become a reality in Africa. Under pressure with other corporations to join the war against AIDS, Coca-Cola Co. says it is putting its massive distribution system and marketing muscle behind the fight against the disease on that continent, where 70% of the world s cases of HIV infec
Researchers Warn AIDS Poses Threat to International Security: Wall Street Journal - June 19, 2001; Michael M. Phillips, Staff Reporter; WASHINGTON -- The spread of AIDS poses a looming threat to international security as it ravages military forces in the developing world and destabilizes entire nations, according to a new report by an international research and advocacy group. For a growing number of states, AIDS can no longer be understood or responde
Daimler Provides AIDS Help To Employees in South Africa: Wall Street Journal - June 19, 2001; Robert Block, Staff Reporter; JOHANNESBURG, South Africa -- German-American car maker DaimlerChrysler AG s South African subsidiary has launched perhaps the country s most far-reaching corporate program to manage AIDS among employees and dependents, including providing free antiretroviral drugs to infected workers and their families. We believ
Yale Economist Envisions AIDS-Drug Plan With Two Markets for Companies' Patents: Wall Street Journal - June 13, 2001; Michael M. Phillips, Staff Reporter; WASHINGTON -- International health officials are looking into a novel proposal to resolve the conflict between drug companies desperate to defend their patents and poor nations desperate to buy cheap drugs to treat AIDS. Yale University economist Jenny Lanjouw s plan -- in which pharmaceutical companies would surrender
Glaxo Unveils Another Price Cut For AIDS Drugs to Poor Countries: Wall Street Journal - June 11, 2001; Rachel Zimmerman; Responding to unrelenting pressure to further cut the cost of AIDS medicines in poor countries, GlaxoSmithKline PLC announced Monday another round of drug-price reductions. Jean-Pierre Garnier, Glaxo s chief executive, said the list price of three AIDS drugs -- Ziagen ,
Eye Banks' Rising Recalls Prompt Calls For More Rigorous Screening of Donors: Wall Street Journal - June 11, 2001; Jill Carroll, Staff Reporter; WASHINGTON -- Eye banks are reporting more so-called recalls of transplanted corneas because donors tested positive for hepatitis or the virus that causes AIDS. At the same time, the Food and Drug Administration has warned an eye bank about inadequate procedures for screening corpses for diseases. The
Pfizer to Fund a Ugandan Clinic To Teach AIDS-Related Treatment: Wall Street Journal - June 8, 2001; Scott Hensley, Staff Reporter; A consortium of doctors from Uganda and North America is expected to announce on Monday that Pfizer Inc. will fund the construction and operation of a training clinic for AIDS physicians in Kampala, Uganda. The clinic, to be located at Makerere University Medical School in Kampala, will instruct about 80 African doctor
Gates Gives $2 Billion to Foundation To Boost Its Role in Global Health: Wall Street Journal - June 7, 2001; David Bank, Staff Reporter; Bill Gates donated an additional $2 billion to his philanthropic foundation, reinforcing the Microsoft Corp. chairman s intention to play a major role in global health policy. The donation brings the endowment of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which already was the nation s largest, to more than $23 billion. In
Pfizer to Offer Diflucan Free for Patients With AIDS in Least-Developed Countries: Wall Street Journal - June 6, 2001; NEW YORK -- Pfizer Inc. said Wednesday that it will offer its Diflucan antifungal medicine free to HIV/AIDS patients in 50 of the least-developed countries -- as identified by the United Nations -- where the disease is most prevalent. Pfizer developed the Diflucan Partnership in cooperation with the U.N. and the
U.N.'s Annan Calls On Corporate America To Step Up Efforts to Fight AIDS Globally: Wall Street Journal - June 4, 2001; Rachel Zimmerman; WASHINGTON -- United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan called on corporate America to step up its efforts in battling the global AIDS epidemic or else risk economic ruin. Addressing the U.S. Chamber of Commerce here, Mr. Annan characterized HIV/AIDS as a global problem of catastrophic proportions that devastates eco
HIV Study Shows 4.4% Infection Rate For Young Gay Men, Especially Blacks: Wall Street Journal - June 1, 2001; Ann Carrns, Staff Reporter; ATLANTA -- A new federal HIV survey is adding to fears of a rise in AIDS in young men who are gay or bisexual, particularly among blacks. A survey by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta found an annual incidence of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, of 4.4% among young gay men in six large cities. T
Asia Steps Up Awareness of AIDS As Epidemic Completes 2nd Decade: Wall Street Journal - June 1, 2001; Michelle Munn, Staff Reporter; As those attending an HIV conference in the U.S. on June 6 prepare to mark two decades of the world AIDS epidemic, Asian countries are stepping up public awareness about the HIV virus, which has struck 6.3 million people across the region. Two Asian nations with the worst rates of HIV/AIDS are making modest progress.
Gates Foundation Seeks to Bring Vaccine To Africa With Incentives for Drug Firms: Wall Street Journal - May 31, 2001; David Bank, Staff Reporter; WASHINGTON -- A new partnership backed by $70 million from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is offering incentives for pharmaceuticals makers to develop and distribute a vaccine for a strain of meningitis responsible for repeated epidemics in east and west Africa. The effort is the first example of a type of partn
Twenty Years of AIDS in America: Wall Street Journal - May 30, 2001; 1981 First CDC warning about a rare disease, eventually known as Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) 1984 Viral agent that causes AIDS is identified, later named Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)
Spotting AIDS in Africa Shaped Doctor's Destiny: Wall Street Journal - May 30, 2001; Mark Schoofs, Staff Reporter; This week, Anne Bayley is going back to Zambia , the country where she first worked as a missionary doctor in 1961. Since then, Zambia has been transformed utterly by the disease -- AIDS -- that Dr. Bayley first identified there. But she, too, has been changed by her discovery. The story of this unassuming, British-bor
New HIV Cases in U.S. Stabilize, But Blacks Still Pose Challenge: Wall Street Journal - May 30, 2001; Ann Carrns, Staff Reporter; Twenty years after the first cases of AIDS were identified, the number of Americans newly infected with the HIV virus has stabilized at an estimated 40,000 annually. But policy makers, AIDS activists and even drug companies have begun to examine why measures that have reduced the overall HIV infection rate in the U.S.
Powell's Visit to Africa Includes Pressure On Strongmen to Honor Democratic Rule: Wall Street Journal - May 29, 2001; Michael M. Phillips, Staff Reporter; NAIROBI, Kenya -- Hoping to convince dubious Africans that they are a U.S. foreign-policy priority, the Bush administration is conducting a pointed campaign to persuade two of the continent s most recalcitrant strongmen to abide by democratic rules and step down from power when their terms end. In a visit here this
While in Africa, Powell Tours AIDS Center, Hears Stories of Its Victims, Promises Action: Wall Street Journal - May 29, 2001; Michael M. Phillips, Staff Reporter; KAMPALA, Uganda -- Agnes Nyamayarwo lost her husband to AIDS. Her youngest son, who contracted HIV in her womb, died when he was six years old. At the age of 49, Ms. Nyamayarwo knows that she, too, will probably die of the disease. During the weekend, Ms. Nyamayarwo told her AIDS story to one of the few people in the w
Colin Powell Travels to Africa With a Bush Plan to Fight AIDS: Wall Street Journal - May 25, 2001; Michael M. Phillips, Staff Reporter; PRETORIA, South Africa -- The Bush administration is calling on African leaders from both podium and pulpit to take personal responsibility for stemming the spread of AIDS. As Secretary of State Colin Powell arrived here Thursday, top administration officials suggested that South African President Thabo Mbeki and other
Anglo American Directors Hear Plan to Distribute AIDS Drugs: Wall Street Journal - May 15, 2001; Mark Schoofs, Staff Reporter; LONDON -- The board of directors for mining giant Anglo American PLC heard a proposal for offering AIDS drugs to its low-skilled African workers. 1Mining Firm Anglo American Offers AIDS Drugs to Workers (May 7) As expected, the board didn t commit to providing the drugs but did back the planning process set by Anglo Am
Mining Firm Anglo American Offers AIDS Drugs to Workers: Wall Street Journal - May 7, 2001; Mark Schoofs, Staff Reporter; JOHANNESBURG, South Africa -- Anglo American PLC, the London-based mining conglomerate with huge operations in Africa, says it is making plans to provide AIDS drugs to its African workers and their spouses. Potentially, Anglo could end up treating more than 50,000 people. The group s plans aren t yet finalized, and Ang
FDA Says Some Drug-Ad Images, May Be Misleading to Consumers: Wall Street Journal - May 4, 2001; Chris Adams and Ann Grimes; Nothing beats pictures to drive home a message, but some drug companies find their visuals are raising the ire of federal drug-ad watchers. Last week, the Food and Drug Administration sent a critical letter to eight makers of drugs used for treatment of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. That letter singled out the strap
Health: Gilead Sciences Files for FDA Approval Of Promising New AIDS Drug Tenofovir: Wall Street Journal - May 2, 2001; FOSTER CITY, Calif. -- Gilead Sciences Inc. filed for regulatory approval of its AIDS drug tenofovir, a potential new weapon against drug-resistant strains of HIV that also could help the company turn a profit. Gilead said it expects the Food and Drug Administration to review its application and render a decision withi
First Rule of AIDS, In Africa: Do No Harm: Wall Street Journal - May 2, 2001; Holman W. Jenkins, Jr.; Fish swim in the sea, and corporate executives swim in a sea of media fury about their supposed sins. Or as Glaxo chief J. P. Garnier put it last week, We don t exist in a vacuum. For the drug industry that has meant fending off blame for the global AIDS epidemic by repeatedly trying to call its critics bluff. Months a
Economy: U.S. to Support Global Fund In an Effort to Fight AIDS: Wall Street Journal - April 30, 2001; Michael M. Phillips, Staff Reporter; WASHINGTON -- Facing mounting international pressure, the Bush administration has decided the U.S. will contribute to a global fund aimed at combating AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria in the developing world. While the exact size of the U.S. commitment is yet to be determined, administration officials have signed on to a
Brazil Makes a Name for Itself Pumping Out Cheap AIDS Drugs: Wall Street Journal - April 27, 2001; Miriam Jordan, Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal; RIO DE JANEIRO -- A small drug factory on a tropical campus sandwiched between two slums is giving big multinational pharmaceutical makers a headache. For more than 40 years, the assembly lines of this Brazilian government laboratory, Far-Manguinhos, have spewed out dozens of drugs, most of them for malaria, leprosy an
Health: Mbeki's Doubts About Drugs Thwart Efforts to Fight AIDS in South Africa: Wall Street Journal - April 26, 2001; Robert Block, Staff Reporter; JOHANNESBURG, South Africa -- With a key legal settlement last week, the opportunity to employ AIDS drugs in the country worst afflicted by the disease has never been greater. But AIDS activists and many health organizations say South Africa s response to the epidemic is being hamstrung from the highest levels: Preside
Health: U.N. Will Unveil Sweeping Plan To Attack AIDS in Poor Nations: Wall Street Journal - April 25, 2001; Michael M. Phillips and Rachel Zimmerman, Staff Reporters; United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan is expected to unveil Thursday a comprehensive plan financed by rich nations to fight AIDS and other infectious diseases in poor countries, according to people familiar with the proposal. At a speech before African leaders meeting in Abuja, Nigeria , Mr. Annan plans to
AIDS Gaffes in Africa Come Back To Haunt Drug Industry in the U.S.: Wall Street Journal - April 23, 2001; Gardiner Harris, Staff Reporter; In John le Carre s latest book, The Constant Gardener, the bad guy isn t a Soviet spymaster or a marauding terrorist but a sinister pharmaceuticals giant called KVH. With his ear for the latest in popular villainy, Mr. le Carre joins an extraordinary global trend. These days, the world-wide drug industry is reeling fro
Health Minister Says South Africa May Reject Use of AIDS Drugs; Having Beaten Back Lawsuit, Pretoria Now Is Hedging on Anti-Retroviral Agents: Wall Street Journal - April 20, 2001; Robert Block, Staff Reporter; JOHANNESBURG, South Africa -- Minutes after the world s biggest drug makers abandoned a legal battle to stop South Africa from importing cheap generic AIDS drugs, South Africa s health minister stood before a packed conference room and dropped a bombshell. 1 South Africa, Drug Firms Near Accord to Settle Court Case Ove
International Commentary: Drug Bust: Wall Street Journal - April 20, 2001; Yesterday s banner headline in the Guardian proclaimed, Shamed and humiliated -- the drug firms back down -- a pretty standard sample of the lefty London paper s journalistic objectivity. Ostensibly, the decision of 39 companies this week to drop their suit to invalidate South Africa s Medicines and Related Substances
Pharmaceutical Makers Agree to Settle Patent Suit on South Africa's Terms: Wall Street Journal - April 18, 2001; Robert Block and Gardiner Harris, Staff Reporters; JOHANNESBURG, South Africa -- Under international pressure from AIDS activists, the world pharmaceutical industry has agreed to drop a suit against the South African government almost entirely on the government s terms, according to a senior person involved in the industry side of the negotiations. The agreement, w
South Africa, Drug Firms Near Accord To Settle Court Case Over AIDS Drugs: Wall Street Journal - April 18, 2001; Robert Block, Staff Reporter; JOHANNESBURG, South Africa -- Last-minute settlement talks here late Tuesday could end the court case brought by the international drug industry against South Africa, according to drug-industry and government officials. The trial, watched closely by AIDS activists world-wide, was scheduled to resume Wednesday in Pretor
Student Protesters Target Universities Profiting From Research on AIDS: Wall Street Journal - April 12, 2001; Racher Zimmerman, Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal; The University of Minnesota expects to collect more than $300 million in royalties from its patent on Ziagen , an AIDS drug sold by GlaxoSmithKline PLC. Amanda Swarr, a 28-year-old graduate student at the school, thinks that is outrageous. We are furious at the university s complicity in the denial of access to li
Harvard Group Calls for Trust Fund To Pay for AIDS Programs in Africa: Wall Street Journal - April 5, 2001; Rachel Zimmerman, Staff Reporter of the Wall Street Journal; The price tag for treating even one million people suffering from AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa would run to $1.12 billion a year for three years, according to a statement released Wednesday by faculty members of Harvard University.
Abbott Labs Gets Approval to Market Its Drug for HIV Treatment in Canada: Wall Street Journal - April 3, 2001; MONTREAL -- Abbott Laboratories said Monday that it received approval to market its HIV/AIDS drug Kaletra in Canada . Kaletra is a protease inhibitor that works to prevent the enzyme on which the HIV virus depends from replicating itself.
Abbott to Cut Prices on AIDS Drugs Distributed in Sub-Saharan Africa: Wall Street Journal - March 27, 2001; Rachel Zimmerman and Michael Waldholz, Staff Reporters of the Wall Street Journal; In the latest response to the growing public outcry over international AIDS-drug pricing, Abbott Laboratories is planning to sell its two AIDS drugs and its HIV diagnostic test at no profit in sub-Saharan Africa.
Drug Makers Are Unlikely to Cut Prices of AIDS Medicines in U.S.: Wall Street Journal - March 23, 2001; Robert Gavin and Andrew Caffrey; Now that pharmaceuticals companies have slashed the price of AIDS drugs in Africa, can U.S. patients expect similar drops in the price of their life-sustaining medicine? Don t count on it, say insurers, state health officials and advocates for people infected with HIV. One big reason: Using Africa s AIDS epidemic as le
Panic About AIDS Hits China, Leading to Draconian Measures Bills Curbing Rights of People With HIV Alarm Doctors, Who Seek Better Education: Wall Street Journal - March 23, 2001; Leslie Chang; BEIJING -- A recent parliamentary bill to criminalize spreading the AIDS virus highlights how a virulent mix of public panic and populism is hurting China s AIDS sufferers -- and detracting from efforts to fight the disease. Last week, two groups of deputies proposed bills that would make knowingly spreading the AIDS v
Bristol-Myers Squibb Offers to Sell AIDS Drugs in Africa at Below Cost: The Wall Street Journal - March 15, 2001; Michael Waldholz and Rachel Zimmerman; Saying it wants to stimulate a vigorous international response to the AIDS crisis in Africa, Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. is offering to sell its two HIV medicines to poor nations on the continent at just below the drugs cost, the first time any drug maker has made such a proposal. The New York pharmaceutical giant says it
Studies Find AIDS Drug Cocktails To Be Most Cost-Effective Treatment: Wall Street - March 15, 2001; By a Wall Street Journal Staff Reporter; BOSTON -- Although expensive, combinations of antiviral drugs are the most cost-effective way of treating HIV-infected patients in the U.S., according to two new studies in Thursday s New England Journal of Medicine. In one study, researchers at Rand Health, Santa Monica, Calif., along with others, found that the total
G-7 Nations Ponder Footing Bill To Fight AIDS in Poorer Countries: The Wall Street Journal - March 13, 2001; Michael M. Phillips and Yaroslav Trofimov; With global outrage mounting over the deadly spread of AIDS in Africa, the world s wealthy nations are considering plans to help poor ones buy expensive, life-extending drugs. Momentum is building among the Group of Seven major industrial powers to announce an anti-AIDS plan at their July summit in Genoa,
Cipla Sidesteps South African Fight With a Bid to Offer Generic Drugs: Wall Street Journal - March 12, 2001; Robert Block; JOHANNESBURG, South Africa -- The South African government has been tossed a hot potato by Indian drug maker Cipla , which asked Wednesday for legal permission to supply the country with low-cost generic copies of patented AIDS medicines. The gambit by Cipla Chief Executive Yusuf Hamied for a compulsory license for e
Altruism, Politics and Bottom Line Intersect at Indian Generics Firm: Wall Street Journal - March 12, 2001; Daniel Pearl and Alix Freedman; BOMBAY, India -- Yusuf K. Hamied is a man with impressive humanitarian credentials. His pharmaceuticals company, Cipla Ltd., runs a free cancer-care hospital in India. His apartment near London s Hyde Park boasts a series of paintings of Mother Teresa that bear her signature. When a devastating earthquake recently stru
AIDS Fighters Win Skirmish In South African Legal Fight: Wall Street Journal - March 7, 2001; Robert Block; PRETORIA, South Africa -- AIDS activists scored a victory against international drug companies by putting the suffering of AIDS victims back at the center of a landmark legal suit seeking to stop South Africa from importing low-cost vital medicines. The campaigners success came in the second day of the lawsuit when Pre
Indian Drug Firms Brace For a Brave New World: Wall Street Journal - March 6, 2001; Jesse Pesta; NEW DELHI -- India s pharmaceuticals industry is preparing to swallow a horse pill, and foreign drug makers want to be there when the medication kicks in. On the first day of 2005, Indian drug makers must start honoring international pharmaceutical patents for the first time since the 1970s. They are scrambling to find
Price War Breaks Out Over AIDS Drugs In Africa as Generics Present Challenge: Wall Street Journal - March 6, 2001; Mark Schoofs and Michael Waldholz; An extraordinary price war is breaking out in the market for AIDS drugs in poor countries, as pharmaceuticals giants seek to blunt a growing threat from generic-drug companies and recoup some moral high ground amid the crippling epidemic. Merck & Co. Tuesday confirmed it is slashing the prices for two of its import
Big Drug Firms Defend Right to Patents On AIDS Drugs in South African Court: Wall Street Journal - March 6, 2001; Robert Block; PRETORIA, South Africa -- Under fire internationally for their drug-pricing policies, the world s biggest pharmaceutical companies said a lawsuit they filed against the South African government is aimed only at protecting their constitutional rights and is not about the growing scourge of AIDS or the high price of the
Trading in Ives Health Is Halted by SEC Action: Wall Street Journal - March 6, 2001; Aaron Elstein; The Securities and Exchange Commission halted trading Monday in shares of Ives Health Co. after regulators questioned the accuracy and adequacy of its statements about an AIDS treatment. Shares of Ives Health, which sells homeopathic remedies over the Internet and in stores, rocketed to 73 cents from six cents on Feb.
U.N.'s Kofi Annan Wages a Campaign To Get Rich Nations to Help AIDS Fight: The Wall Street Journal - March 2, 2001; Michael M. Phillips and Mark Schoofs, Staff Reporters; United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan is preparing to launch a new campaign to reduce prices of AIDS drugs in developing nations and convince wealthy nations to pony up the cost of treating the killer disease and stemming its relentless spread. Several top U.N. officials believe the major drug companies -- chaste
AIDS Epidemic Puts Drug Firms In a Vise: Treatment vs. Profits: The Wall Street Journal - March 2, 2001; Helene Cooper, Rachel Zimmerman and Laurie McGinley, Staff Reporters of The Wall Street Journal; Can the pharmaceuticals industry inflict any more damage upon its ailing public image? Well, how about suing Nelson Mandela? That s how scores of international AIDS activists are portraying a lawsuit by 40 drug makers that will be heard beginning Monday in a Pretoria courthouse. The suit seeks to overturn a law that Mr
GlaxoSmithKline to Test AIDS Vaccine on Humans: Wall Street Journal - February 23, 2001; Gautam Naik, Staff Reporter; LONDON -- GlaxoSmithKline PLC, the world s largest maker of anti-AIDS drugs, said it plans to test a novel AIDS vaccine on humans later this year after it showed promising results in tests on laboratory monkeys. The British drug giant said that tests on monkeys demonstrated that the vaccine offered protection lasting m
Offer to Sell Cut-Rate AIDS Drugs Failing to Draw Any Major Buyers: The Wall Street Journal - February 22, 2001; Alix M. Freedman, Rachel Zimmerman and Daniel Pearl, Staff Reporters; An offer to sell AIDS drugs at an extreme discount in Africa has yet to find a major buyer, largely because international relief agencies are still wrestling over how to provide the life-saving medicines on a vast scale. Two weeks ago, Cipla Ltd. of Bombay, India , jolted the drug industry and the public-h
GlaxoSmithKline Profit Jumps 13% As Firm Plans to Boost AIDS Efforts: Wall Street Journal - February 22, 2001; Gautam Naik, Staff Reporter; LONDON -- GlaxoSmithKline PLC, the newly merged pharmaceutical giant, reported a 13% rise in pretax profit for 2000, and said it would strengthen efforts to provide AIDS drugs at 90% discounts to poorer countries. In its first earnings report since the December merger of Glaxo Wellcome
Merck Starts Human Trials Of Its New AIDS Vaccine: The Wall Street Journal - February 22, 2001; Mark Schoofs, Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal; Merck & Co. has initiated small human trials of a new experimental HIV vaccine that is sparking hope among AIDS scientists. The vaccine, the result of what Merck says is the largest preclinical vaccine-research program in its history, has been able to prevent laboratory monkeys exposed to a virulent strain of HIV
Confidential!: Genetics research is prompting calls for new privacy laws -- before it's too late: Wall Street Journal - February 21, 2001; Antonio Regalado; This is the kind of situation privacy experts worry about. Janet, a 35-year-old college professor, has been diagnosed with faulty genes that can lead to lung and liver disease. No one has denied Janet a job or cut off her insurance. But she is afraid they might. So Janet, who has never developed symptoms and has a job
Bush Won't Alter Clinton's AIDS Policy Despite Criticism From Drug Companies: Wall Street Journal - February 21, 2001; Helene Cooper and Laurie McGinley, Staff Reporters; WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration said it has no plans to abandon President Clinton s AIDS policy, which some drug companies say allows sub-Saharan African countries to skirt patent protections for their products. A tersely worded statement issued by the office of the U.S. Trade Representative Tuesday said the Whit
HIV-Infected Transsexual in Brazil Is Unlikely Leader of AIDS Program: Wall Street Journal - February 21, 2001; Miriam Jordan, Staff Reporter; SAO PAULO, Brazil -- Jacqueline Rocha turns heads. But she isn t the latest Brazilian fashion model to conquer the catwalks. Ms. Rocha, nee Jacques Rocha Cortes, is a transsexual who is infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. Petite with shoulder-length streaked brown hair, Ms. Rocha has emerged as a leader in o
Companies Weigh Offer of Royalties For AIDS Drugs Aimed at Africa: Wall Street Journal, February 16, 2001; Daniel Pearl, Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal; Two U.S. drug companies appear to be weighing an Indian generic-drug maker s offer to pay them 5% royalties in exchange for permission to sell knockoff versions of their patented anti-AIDS drugs in developing countries.
Health Drug Makers Are Prodded On Cut-Rate AIDS Medicines: Wall Street Journal - February 16, 2001; Rachel Zimmerman, Staff Reporter; The head of the United Nations AIDS program called on the global pharmaceutical industry to step up efforts to provide cut-rate AIDS medicines to developing nations ravaged by the epidemic. Peter Piot, executive director of UNAIDS , in a statement issued from the organization s headquarters in Geneva, urged the craftin
Brazil May Flout Trade Laws To Keep AIDS Drugs Free: The Wall Street Journal - February 12, 2001; Miriam Jordan, Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal; SAO PAULO, Brazil -- Except for chronic foot pain that forces him to walk with a cane, Hugo Hagstrom looks every bit a healthy 40-year-old -- 6 feet tall, 200 pounds and energetic.
'Quick Test' Could Determine HIV Patients' Drug Resistance: The Wall Street Journal - February 8, 2001; Meera Louis, Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal; A private Belgian genomics company has developed a quick test to predict drug resistance in patients infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. Virco Group NV (www.vircolab.com1) claims that the test will help doctors better tailor treatment for HIV-infected patients. Reporting their findings at a major AIDS confer
Abbott AIDS Drug Didn't Make Patients Resistant to Other Drugs: Wall Street Journal - February 8, 2001; By a Wall Street Journal Staff Reporter; CHICAGO -- AIDS patients being treated by the Abbott Laboratories drug Kaletra didn t develop any resistance to it or to any other protease-inhibitor drugs in a clinical study presented at a medical conference here.
Drug Industry, AIDS Community Is Jolted by Cipla AIDS-Drug Offer: Wall Street Journal - February 8, 2001; Rachel Zimmerman and Jesse Pesta; The sudden offer by an Indian drug manufacturer to sell lower-priced AIDS drugs in Africa has sent a jolt through the drug industry and the international AIDS community, but many questions remain about whether or how poor countries could take advantage of it.
Researchers Discover Spread Of Drug-Resistant Strains of HIV: Wall Street Journal - February 8, 2001; Mark Schoofs, Staff Reporter; CHICAGO -- More drug-resistant strains of HIV, the AIDS virus, are being spread from person to person, researchers reported Wednesday at a major AIDS conference being held here. The disturbing study also showed that people who contract drug-resistant HIV fare worse on therapy.
Studies Consider the Effect Of Break in AIDS Therapy: Wall Street Journal - February 7, 2001; Mark Schoofs, Staff Reporter; CHICAGO -- One of the hottest issues at a major AIDS conference held here this week is whether patients can safely stop taking their AIDS medications and whether doing so can actually boost the immune system enough to control HIV without drugs. Several studies reported Tuesday suggested the treatment interruption appr
CDC Aims to Cut New AIDS Infections In Half by Shifting Prevention Strategy: Wall Street Journal - February 7, 2001; Mark Schoofs, Staff Reporter; CHICAGO -- The U.S. Centers for Disease Control will unveil a major shift in its AIDS-prevention strategy Wednesday in an effort to reduce by half the number of Americans who each year contract HIV, the AIDS virus. But CDC officials said they aren t certain they can get the money such an effort requires because of the
Belgian Company Develops Drugs That Foil Resistance of HIV Strains: Wall Street Journal - February 6, 2001; Mark Schoofs, Staff Reporter; A tiny, privately held Belgian company has developed experimental AIDS drugs designed specifically to work against strains of HIV that resist existing medicines. To date, these resistant strains have defied efforts by giant drug makers Merck & Co. and GlaxoSmithKline PLC, among others. But at a major AIDS scie
A Delay in Starting Patients On AIDS Drugs Is Proposed: Wall Street Journal - February 5, 2001; Mark Schoofs, Staff Reporter; Researchers at a major AIDS meeting here Monday are expected to call for a delay in starting patients on the powerful drugs that have slashed the death rate from the disease in the U.S. and elsewhere. Meanwhile, a well-known Harvard economist opened the weeklong meeting Sunday night by calling on the Bush administratio
New Class of AIDS Drugs Yields Good Results in Some Early Tests: Wall Street Journal - January 30, 2001; Gardiner Harris, Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal; A new class of AIDS drugs designed to help patients who develop resistance or intolerance to standard treatments appears to work well, according to the results of six small studies.
Molecule Able to Block HIV's Entrance Into a Cell Is Found by an MIT Scientist: The Wall Street Journal - January 12, 2001; Antonio Regalado; A scientist recently selected to lead the research division of Merck & Co. has found a potential new Achilles heel for HIV, the virus that causes AIDS . The work could lead to a last-chance therapy for patients who have become resistant to currently available drugs. Most drugs used to treat AIDS work by stopping th
New Taboos: To Help Fight AIDS , Tanzanian Villages Ban Traditions --- Bawdy Dances, Night Trysts, Even Flirting Outlawed; A Model for Prevention? --- 'It's Survival of the Smartest': The Wall Street Journal - January 12, 2001; Michael M. Phillips; MWALINHA, Tanzania -- Asha Saidi s tryst was supposed to go like this: At dusk, she would meet the man at an abandoned hut on the edge of the village. He d bring four cans of Safari Lager. They d have sex. Then he d give her 10,000 Tanzanian shillings -- roughly $13 -- to help feed her five children. Instead, she s

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