National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day
HIV/AIDS advocate Martin Delaney dies
Medicare considers payment for HIV facial wasting treatment options
CHAMP and AVAC join forces to bring prevention information from CROI to the masses
Abbott forges ahead with new Norvir formulation
National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day
In recognition of the devastating toll that HIV/AIDS has taken on African American communities, as well as the progress that has been made towards combating the epidemic among this population, February 7th continues to be acknowledged as National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day.
Currently, African Americans are facing the most severe rates of HIV infection within the United States. While this ethnic minority group accounts for approximately 12% of the U.S. population, they account for nearly half of new HIV infections and almost half of the more than one million Americans estimated to be living with HIV, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Stigma, homophobia, poverty, and limited access to health have contributed to a high prevalence of HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases within the black community. It has been estimated that 1 in 16 black men will be diagnosed with the virus in their lifetime, as will 1 in 30 black women. Black gay and bisexual men have been particularly hard hit by the epidemic, and rates among young men who have sex with men continue to increase at alarming rates.
Mobilization efforts within the African American community, however, are proving effective, with the CDC recently reporting that the new infection rate among blacks has remained relatively stable over the past decade.
To find out what’s going on in your community in recognition of National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, or for more information regarding the epidemic among African Americans, visit www.blackaidsday.org.
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HIV/AIDS advocate Martin Delaney dies
Long time HIV/AIDS advocate Martin Delaney died late last month at age 63 from complications with liver cancer. For the past 25 years, Delaney has been a powerful voice within the HIV/AIDS community. In 1985, he co-founded Project Inform, a treatment education organization based in San Francisco, and was almost solely responsible for pushing the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to allow access to experimental HIV drugs before they were granted proper approval, undoubtedly saving a countless number of lives.
Until his death, Delaney served on numerous national advocacy boards and committees, including the AIDS Treatment Activists Coalition and the Fair Pricing Coalition. He also provided the activist comments for the 2008 Positively Aware HIV Drug Guide. Marty, as he was affectionately called by his colleagues and friends, will be sorely missed.
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Senate removes economic stimulus bill provision that would have increased funding for HIV, STI prevention
The U.S. House of Representatives approved an economic stimulus bill last week that would allocate $335 million to the CDC for HIV and other sexually transmitted infection (STI) prevention efforts. Floor debate for the Senate version of the bill, which would have allocated $400 million to the CDC for HIV and STI prevention efforts, began earlier this week and ended with the provision being removed from the bill. It is unclear at this point whether this means all funding for these prevention efforts would be cut or if the $335 million in the House bill would stand.
While Senate Appropriations Health Subcommittee chair Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) praised the allocation as one of the “noteworthy achievements” of the bill, according to the Washington Times, Republicans questioned how STI research would get the flailing U.S. economy back on track.
“How in the world does STD research create jobs?” asked Wesley Denton, an aide to Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S. Carolina). “Wait…don’t answer that. I don’t want to know.”
While there would be admittedly few jobs created and sustained in the field of HIV and STI prevention, the impact on the American workforce and the public health costs of these diseases seems not to have been considered. Washington Times reporter Cheryl Wetzstein writes, “If Congress cares about reducing national health care costs and keeping workers healthy and productive, stuffing a little [STI] prevention money in the package might be a wise thing to do.”
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Medicare considers payment for HIV facial wasting treatment options
Citing its positive effects on self-esteem and quality of life for people living with HIV who are affected by Lipodystrophy Syndrome (LDS), advocates have attempted to get the cost of facial wasting treatment options reimbursed by medical insurance providers for the past 10 years. Recently, the Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) opened what is known as a “national coverage determination” to establish whether such treatments should be covered under Medicare.
Facial LDS is characterized by the abnormal redistribution of fat stores in the face and is common among many HIV-positive people taking antiretroviral medication. If reconstructive procedures for treating LDS are to be covered, CMS must first determine whether such options are statutorily excluded as cosmetic surgery under the Social Security Act, and then whether treatment is reasonable and necessary to treat “illness or injury or to improve the functioning of a malformed body member.”
The cost of facial reconstruction surgery averages more than $5,000, and is currently not reimbursable under Medicare or private insurance companies. Private insurers, however tend to follow decisions made by Medicare in such instances. To express your support, share your experience, or to comment about the impact of facial lipoatrophy on people living with HIV, visit www.cms.hhs.gov. Also see www.powerusa.org
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CHAMP and AVAC join forces to bring prevention information from CROI to the masses
The Community HIV/AIDS Mobilization Project (CHAMP) and the AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalition (AVAC) are teaming up to bring information and dialogue from the 2009 Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI) to a much broader audience.
Scheduled to take place in Montreal later this month, CROI is a “meeting of the minds” between laboratory and clinical science, where scientists and clinicians convene to present, discuss, and critique their research on the biology and epidemiology of HIV. In recent years, however, prevention has become a critical focus at the conference, which previously concentrated primarily on treatment issues.
In an effort to deepen community understanding and discussion of the prevention research issues discussed at CROI, CHAMP and AVAC will provide a series of four webinars that will include an overview of the scientific presentations, and feature researchers and advocates who will discuss the sessions.
The 60-75 minute sessions are planned for February 19th, February 26th, March 5th and March 12th, beginning at 2pm eastern time. Each webinar will feature an online slide show presented by key researchers and/or advocates, opportunities for dialogue with presenters, and discussion on how each topic fits into a broader research advocacy agenda and opportunities for further engagement in advocacy.
To register, or for more information, click here.
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Abbott forges ahead with new Norvir formulation
Abbott Virology, makers of the anti-HIV drugs Kaletra and Norvir, recently announced that it has submitted applications with U.S. and E.U. regulatory authorities, seeking registration for a new tablet formulation of Norvir (ritonavir).
Unlike the currently available gel capsule, the new formulation of Norvir will not require refrigeration, making it more convenient to use. This is particularly important for the millions of people living with HIV in developing countries, who may lack the resources required for refrigerating their medications.
Norvir belongs to the class of antiretroviral drugs known as protease inhibitors, and is commonly used to boost other drugs from this same class. Abbott first presented data from a bioavailability study of the tablet, which compared the new formulation to the current soft gel capsule, at the XVII International AIDS Conference held in Mexico City last year.
No anticipated date of availability for the new formulation has been announced as of yet.
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