Originally published by the Voice of America (www.voanews.com).
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AIDS Patients Get Best New Drugs For Treatment
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http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=164C993:A6F02AD83191E160A30B34606A5B10359574F7DCC14957C0 Today's best AIDS
drugs are very effective, but they become less effective as the virus
develops resistance AIDS patients in developing countries, where
effective treatments were late in coming, may be more likely to avoid
drug resistance than patients who have been treated for years with
other medicines. VOA's Art Chimes reports from the American
Association for the Advancement of Science meeting in San Francisco

Today's best AIDS drugs - actually, a cocktail of several medicines -
are very effective. But they become less effective as the virus
develops resistance.

One of the world's leading experts on HIV/AIDS, Dr. Anthony Fauci,
says the newest drugs work best on those who have never been treated
with the old single or two-drug treatments.

"The people who respond really well are those who've never had a drug
before, and you start off with the maximum therapy," Dr. Fauci says.
"And that's exactly what's going on in Africa. They never had the
advantage of a single drug or a double drug so when they get therapy,
they get top-line therapy.

Fauci said there a number of  new drugs in the development pipeline.
The challenge, he said, will be to bring them to market at an
affordable price. Negotiation with drug companies by private donors
such as the Clinton Foundation, and the availability of generic drugs,
may help.




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