Inovio begins testing new HIV vaccine

Inovio Pharmaceuticals has announced that it began the testing of a new vaccine for use against HIV on September 20.

Pennavax-B is a DNA vaccine that uses a proprietary electroporation technique developed by Inovio. Electroporation uses millisecond long electrical pulses to help the DNA vaccine to permeate cell membranes, according to the Philadelphia Business Journal. This technique allows for a significantly greater uptake of the biological material that was injected into local tissue.

Reprieve likely for HIV/AIDS funding

Utah’s Ryan White program may no longer be at risk of falling casualty to Republican angst over health care reform.

Legislative leaders held off on reauthorizing the grant program while they pondered why the state should subsidize health care for low-income HIV/AIDS patients, reasoning such patients will eventually be covered under the federal health overhaul.

But Utah doesn’t subsidize the program — not with hard cash.

And knowing that, Senate President Michael Waddoups now says he sees no reason to discontinue it.

FDA won't disqualify HIV doctor from drug studies

Federal regulators decided not to disqualify a prominent North Side HIV doctor whose clinic submitted fictitious data in a drug trial.

Instead, the Food and Drug Administration agreed to allow Dr. Daniel Berger to continue working on drug trials as long as an outside medical monitor periodically reviews his work for three years.

"I feel as if I've been vindicated," Berger said. "A big weight has been lifted off my shoulders, and I'm able to do my life's work."

New HIV Treatment Targets Infected Cells

A new HIV treatment created by a team of Israeli researchers only kills the infected cells. It uses small pieces of proteins called peptides that enter the cell and increase the number of times the virus replicates, leading to the infected cell to self-destruct and leaves healthy cells unharmed. Abraham Loyter, one of the researchers, pointed out that "The usual medications kill the virus that has entered the body during infection and the (peptide) treatment allows cells infected with the genetic load of the virus to be killed." when he said This method has only been done in human cells infected with HIV, so more studies will need to be done in humans and animals to see if it is safe and effective. The study has been published in the British Journal “AIDS Research and Therapy.”

New HIV Treatment Targets Infected Cells

A new HIV treatment created by a team of Israeli researchers only kills the infected cells. It uses small pieces of proteins called peptides that enter the cell and increase the number of times the virus replicates, leading to the infected cell to self-destruct and leaves healthy cells unharmed. Abraham Loyter, one of the researchers, pointed out that "The usual medications kill the virus that has entered the body during infection and the (peptide) treatment allows cells infected with the genetic load of the virus to be killed." when he said This method has only been done in human cells infected with HIV, so more studies will need to be done in humans and animals to see if it is safe and effective. The study has been published in the British Journal “AIDS Research and Therapy.”