Protease Inhibitors at Retroviruses Conference

The big media story from the 3rd Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections concerned two protease inhibitors, one developed by Abbott Laboratories, the other by Merck & Co. Triple combination trials, which combined each of these experimental drugs with two approved AIDS drugs, showed exceptionally promising results.

The overall outcome was not a surprise, as the general picture has been discussed quietly among inside-track researchers, physicians, and activists for several weeks. But the data had not been available before.

The ritonavir article below will look at the details of the new Abbott trial results, and at other research on this drug presented at the conference. Next week we will look at the Merck protease inhibitor, and at other news from the conference, which was an important meeting even aside from the high-profile protease inhibitor reports.

For More Information

Jules Levin of the National AIDS Treatment Advocacy Project (NATAP) has written in-depth articles on the protease inhibitor news from the 3rd Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections. They are on the NATAP Web site, http://health.nyam.org

Also, audio tapes of many of the sessions of the 3rd Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections are available from Sound Images, Inc. 7388 South Revere Parkway, Suite 806, Englewood, Colorado, 303/649-1811, fax 303/790-4230. Probably the most important single set of tapes is for Late Breaker Session #1, which includes the major Abbott and Merck reports.