ICAAC Opens in San Francisco



September 28, 2006—The 46th annual Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (ICAAC) opened yesterday in San Francisco with HIV and drug resistance among the hot topics so far. Over 12,000 doctors are in attendance, most of them from the U.S. (Check out our daily ICAAC coverage.)

	Diary of a Doc: Vaccine Update at ICAAC
	by Lloyd Bailey, MD Developing a vaccine to prevent HIV infection has been a significant challenge, and, sadly, traditional vaccines are not expected to reach clinical use for another ten years.

	ICAAC: Trizivir vs. Reyataz/Combivir
	by Tim Horn A new study suggests that 48 weeks of treatment with Trizivir® is comparable to a protease inhibitor-based regimen.

	ICAAC: Norvir-Boosted Lexiva vs. Reyataz
	by Tim Horn Early data from a study comparing Lexiva (fosamprenavir) to Reyataz (atazanavir), both combined with low-dose Norvir (ritonavir), suggest that both drugs have similar effectiveness.

	Predictive Value of Viral Load Testing Questioned
	by Tim Horn While the value of viral load testing is pretty much undisputed with respect to monitoring HIV-positive people while on treatment, a recent study by a nationwide team of HIV researchers strongly challenges conventional thinking about viral load as a measure of disease progression in those who aren't yet on therapy and questions the value of using viral load to determine when treatment should be started.

	ICAAC: MK-0518 Potent for Treatment Experienced
	by Tim Horn New follow-up data from a clinical trial evaluating Merck's experimental integrase inhibitor MK-0518 in HIV-positive people who have tried and failed other HIV medications in the past indicates that the drug is effective in terms of reducing viral load for at least 24 weeks.

	ICAAC: More Drug-Resistant HIV?
	by Tim Horn A growing number of HIV-positive people who have never taken HIV medications appear to have virus mutations that can cause drug resistance to available treatment options.

	ICAAC: Prezista and Aptivus on Drug-Resistant HIV
	by Tim Horn Three reports presented Friday at the 46th Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (ICAAC) in San Francisco have shed additional light on the benefits of the protease inhibitors (PIs) Prezista (darunavir) and Aptivus (tipranavir) in the treatment of HIV-positive people who have tried and failed combination therapy in the past.

	Prezista Women's Study Opens for Enrollment
	by Tim Horn Tibotec Therapeutics has announced the initiation of a clinical trial evaluating different responses to HIV treatment among women and men. The Gender, Race, and Clinical Experience (GRACE) study will be the largest clinical trial conducted to date to explore this important issue.

	ICAAC Opens in San Francisco
	The 46th annual Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (ICAAC) opened yesterday in San Francisco with HIV and drug resistance among the hot topics so far.

	ICAAC: Predicting Responses to Aptivus or Prezista
	by Tim Horn For drug resistance testing to provide useful results, the companies that maintain the available assays frequently update the information that accompanies test results so that HIV-positive people and their healthcare providers can make important treatment decisions.

	ICAAC: MK-0518 Appears Lipid Friendly
	by Tim Horn New data suggest that MK-0518 does not cause increased cholesterol or triglyceride as a side effect of treatment. The "late breaker" report, highlighting preliminary results from a study comparing Merck's experimental integrase inhibitor MK-0518 to Bristol-Myers Squibb's non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI) Sustiva® (efavirenz), was presented on Wednesday at the 46th Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (ICAAC) in San Francisco.

	ICAAC: Abortion Pill for HIV? Questions Still Remain
	One of the most intriguing compounds to be studied as an HIV therapy is mifepristone, a controversial medication sold in the United States as Mifeprex® and used to chemically induce abortions in the early stages of pregnancy. While the scientific rationale behind using mifepristone as an anti-HIV agent has piqued the interest of researchers for several years, the results of a new clinical trial reported Wednesday at the 46th Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (ICAAC) in San Francisco indicate that its therapeutic potential for this indication remains unclear.