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Just a quick bit of good news: four patents of the key AIDS/HIV drug tenofovir disoproxil fumarate have been revoked on grounds of prior art. This is great news for developing nations where lower prices on these drugs could save thousands of lives. [Via Slashdot]
Of course, Gilead (the company whose patents have been revoked) are vowing to fight their corner; after all, life is a wonderful thing, but it must always come second to profit.
A new type of "combination therapy" is being hailed by researchers as being an effective cure for the HIV virus. I’m sure I’ve read similar headlines before, but given recent advances in biotechnology, I’ve a little more hope of this being the real deal. However, although I’m no biologist, I’m not entirely sure "cure" is the right word - the article mentions that the therapy "prevents HIV from mutating and spreading", which doesn’t sound quite the same as actually eradicating it from the host body. Still, it’s satisfying to think that perhaps the most frightening disease of the Twentieth Century may soon be little more than a bad memory. [Via OurTechnologicalFuture] [Image from ScienceDaily article, credited to CDC/Dr. A. Harrison; Dr. P. Feorino]
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