AVAC Updates: Newest Issue of Px Wire and M2012 Road Map are Now Available!

via AVAC.org

This update provides a summary of and link to download the newest issue of Px Wire, as well as a roadmap for advocacy and communications-related sessions at the upcoming International Microbicides Conference (M2012).

Px Wire

Download the current issue of Px Wire (Volume 5, Issue 2), a quarterly update on biomedical HIV prevention research worldwide.

In this issue of Px Wire, we are excited to showcase a new ARV-based prevention timeline graphic, just in time for M2012. The timeline shows estimated efficacy trial end-dates, related confirmatory studies and dates of possible regulatory submission for a range of prevention options including oral PrEP with TDF, oral PrEP with TDF/FTC, vaginal and rectal formulations of tenofovir gel and the dapivirine-containing vaginal ring.

We also hope you enjoy reading the feature story in Px Wire where we describe the ongoing work of advocates who are working to influence PEPFAR Country Operating Plans.

Other highlights in this issue of Px Wire include:

• Information on how advocates can contribute their voices to the US FDA’s May 10 public meeting on Gilead Science’s submission for TDF/FTC (Truvada) as PrEP for HIV-negative adults

• Summaries of new AVAC resources: PrEP Using Daily Oral TDF/FTC or TDF in Women (and Men) — What the science tells us in March 2012, and new advocacy resources for voluntary medical male circumcision

• Upcoming events

2012 International Microbicides Conference (M2012)

Next week advocates, policy makers, researchers and funders will meet at the 2012 International Microbicides Conference taking place April 15-18 in Sydney, Australia. Building on past conferences, M2012 is a platform to discuss the latest in microbicides, PrEP and other ARV-based prevention research, as well as the basic science, structural, social and community issues that affect research and eventual rollout of these new tools. M2012 will feature several sessions that focus on advocacy and the role community advocacy and communication plays in the field. Our online conference “roadmap” highlights a number of these sessions. If you will be attending the conference, we invite you to join us at these events. Please visit the AVAC M2012 page for updates on these activities.

If you are not able to participate in M2012 in Sydney, please watch out for information on special AVAC post-M2012 webinars covering critical issues that emerge at the conference. For key updates during the conference visit NAM/AIDSMAP.

As always, if you have any questions please contact us at avac@avac.org.


[Content that is linked from other sources is for informational purposes and should not construe a Mapping Pathways position.]

AVAC Launches Research Literacy Database!

via AVAC

AVAC is pleased today to launch the Research Literacy Database at www.avac.org/researchliteracy, an important new resource for the biomedical HIV prevention field.

The Research Literacy Database is the first central portal for educational resources on biomedical HIV prevention including:

• Global and country-specific materials;

• Resources specific to given prevention interventions including AIDS vaccines, ARV-based prevention and
voluntary medical male circumcision; and

• General information on clinical trials and the research process.

The tools featured in the database were developed by a range of stakeholders worldwide to meet specific needs. We will continue to expand the database and encourage our users to share their favorite materials on an ongoing basis. The database focuses on materials that won’t necessarily change substantially over time; for trial updates, timelines, recent results and their implications and current issues, please see other areas of the AVAC website.

Using an innovative design, the database allows users to search for what they need based on key criteria. For example, a journalist in South Africa who wants to learn more about the basics of microbicide research can use the database to find relevant fact sheets, e-learning courses and other helpful tools. Research organization staff members who need tools for training and outreach to wider audiences can use the database to get a tailored toolkit according to location, audience and specific content.

We all know that the science behind HIV prevention research is challenging. AVAC believes that building
basic research literacy among key stakeholders is fundamental to effective advocacy, to moving research forward as quickly and ethically as possible, and ultimately to getting new prevention options to people who need them. Whether you are a researcher, advocate, journalist, policy maker or someone interested in learning more about clinical trials and new ways to prevent HIV, we hope this database will make learning and outreach efforts easier and more effective.

The database is an iterative tool, and will be constantly updated with new materials and other user input. We need your help in ensuring that useful materials are available and used! Please contact us at researchliteracy@avac.org with any and all feedback you have as you use the database—and we are especially keen to receive additional relevant resources to be shared with the field.

[Content that is linked from other sources is for informational purposes and should not construe a Mapping Pathways position.]

Researchers Report Chinese MSM's Acceptability of PrEP

via PLoS ONE, by Feng Zhou

Introduction

In pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), antiretroviral (ARV) drugs are given to HIV-negative people to decrease their chance of becoming infected. Several studies conducted among men who have sex with men (MSM) have shown that PrEP awareness was very low, and few participants reported having the experience of PrEP use, even in some countries where it is available. Although strategies including abstinence, being faithful, and condom use (ABC) have been proved to be effective for prevention of HIV transmission, the virus still prevails among MSM. It was estimated that 2.6 million individuals were newly infected in 2009 worldwide, which 19% fewer than the 3.1 million in 1999. China had about 740,000 people living with HIV and 105,000 with AIDS by the end of 2009. Homosexual intercourse has become a major mode of HIV transmission since 2009, and the prevalence of HIV in MSM has increased significantly from 2.5% in 2006 to 8.6% in 2009. A sociological study has estimated that there are 1.8–2.4 million homosexual or bisexual men in mainland China. In China, high-risk behavior, such as multiple partners and unprotected sex, have been reported to be common in this group. Also, recent studies have reported rapid transmission of HIV in this specific population from various geographic areas in China, despite the efforts made by the national and local governments and non-governmental organizations in the past few years. New effective approaches are urgently needed for this population.

In recent decades, researchers have made great efforts to explore alternative biomedical interventions, such as male circumcision (MC), HIV PrEP and post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP), HIV vaccines, and microbicides. Among these potential strategies, PrEP is considered to be one of the most promising strategies in MSM. Several animal and human studies have suggested that ARV drugs might reduce the risk of HIV infection either by PrEP or by non-occupational PEP. A 12-month PrEP clinical trial of daily oral tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF) for HIV prevention was performed among 400 HIV-negative Ghanaian women, and achieved good acceptability and >82% adherence. In November 2010, the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced the results of the iPrEx trial of PrEP conducted among 2499 HIV-seronegative MSM in six countries, which showed that daily oral Truvada, a combination of emtricitabine (FTC) and TDF, reduced risk of HIV incidence by 44%, with a median 1.2 years follow-up, compared with the placebo group, and >75% adherence was reached. These findings represent a major advance in HIV prevention research, providing the first evidence that PrEP, when combined with other prevention strategies, can reduce HIV risk among MSM. A further study is ongoing in HIV Prevention Trials Network (HPTN) 067 to evaluate the feasibility of intermittent dosing of PrEP. Recent results from Partners PrEP and CDC TDF2 have shown that PrEP with daily oral TDF/FTC or TDF was effective at reducing HIV risk in heterosexual men and women. However, the Fem-Prep program on Truvada, a closed clinical trial implemented by Family Health International (FHI) in partnership with research centers in Africa, does not support the theory of PrEP having an effect on HIV prevention. Therefore, some factors that might influence the efficacy of PrEP, including adherence, sexual behavior, or other factors still need to be determined.

The awareness and acceptability of new strategies are very important when they are recommended for use. Therefore, the objective of our study was to investigate the awareness and acceptability of PrEP among MSM and potential impact factors, which will provide suggestions and guidelines for future clinical trials in China.

Read the Rest.


[Content that is linked from other sources is for informational purposes and should not construe a Mapping Pathways position.]

Statements from New US AIDS Policy Director, Dr. Grant Colfax, Causes Mixed Reactions

via The Colorado Dependent, by Todd A. Heywood

With a president who has declared the end of AIDS is in reach, Dr. Grant Colfax has a massive job in front of him. But his first interview with The American Independent has some activists challenging his take on controversial elements of the epidemic impacting an estimated 1.2 million Americans.

The former director of the San Francisco Department of Public Health HIV programs was appointed by President Barack Obama to run the Office of National AIDS Policy (ONAP), March 14.

In a brief phone interview with The American Independent, Colfax praised the National HIV/AIDS Strategy (NHAS) and said he was looking forward to implementing the plan. NHAS was released by the Obama administration in July of 2010 and is the first time in the 30 year history of the epidemic that the federal government has developed a comprehensive plan to address HIV in the United States.

HIV-specific criminalization

A key segment of the plan calls for addressing HIV-related stigma and discrimination, including addressing the bevy of HIV-specific criminal state laws that activists have identified as stigmatizing.

“Certainly, criminalization is one of the issues we’ll be looking at as we engage stakeholders in a broader conversation about how stigma and discrimination are contributing to HIV risk and core health outcomes,” Colfax said.

Asked what his personal take on criminalization and its impact on the HIV epidemic was, Colfax demurred.

“I think it’s really premature for me to speak specifically about that beyond what I just said,” Colfax said.

That response did not sit will with activists.

“Dr. Colfax’s boiler-plate reaction to the criminalization issue is disappointing,” said Catherine Hanssens, executive director of the Center for HIV Law and Policy, which houses the anti-HIV criminalization group Positive Justice Project. “Prosecuting and incarcerating people with HIV for years and decades for consensual and no-risk conduct is a profoundly serious form of discrimination that has been stigmatizing people with HIV for decades.”

Sean Strub, a board member for the Global Network of People with HIV– North America, was also disappointed.

“To have any discussion about stigma that doesn’t start with removing HIV-specific criminal statutes is hollow,” Strub said. “Those statutes, which create a viral underclass, are the most extreme manifestation of stigma.”

Read the Rest.


[Content that is linked from other sources is for informational purposes and should not construe a Mapping Pathways position.]

The Impact 'The Affordable Care Act' Will Have on HIV Treatment and Care

via HuffPost Chicago, by Gregory Trotter

For the 1.2 million Americans living with HIV, the Affordable Care Act will be utterly life-changing. For some, it will be life-saving.

Just ask Will Wilson, 58, who was diagnosed with "full-blown AIDS" in 2002.
"It will basically mean freedom," said Wilson, a Chicago resident and an advocate for the Illinois Alliance for Sound AIDS Policy.

For the first time, Wilson will be able to purchase private insurance without fear of being rejected for his preexisting condition. The former graphic designer will be able to aggressively re-enter the job market without risking his continuous access to lifesaving HIV drugs that cost him $3,000 a month.

He'll have options he's never had.

This week, the Supreme Court has heard oral arguments on the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act, specifically the legality of the individual mandate provision and the expansion of Medicaid. It is slated to rule in June on what is widely considered to be the most important Supreme Court case in decades. Many people living with HIV/AIDS and other preexisting conditions will be hoping and praying that the court rules in favor of health care reform.

In January, the AIDS Foundation of Chicago (AFC) signed on to a legal brief -- along with 130 other HIV/AIDS organizations throughout the country -- asserting that the Affordable Care Act is, in fact, constitutional. It's also necessary to stopping the AIDS epidemic in the United States.

"The list of supporters for our brief urging the court to uphold the ACA continues to grow because of the law's enormous potential to impact the domestic AIDS epidemic," said Scott Schoettes, HIV Project Director for Lambda Legal, the legal firm that submitted the brief.

About 24 percent of people living with HIV are uninsured, according to data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The majority of people living with HIV depend on Medicaid and Medicare for medical treatment.

Read the Rest.


[Content that is linked from other sources is for informational purposes and should not construe a Mapping Pathways position.]