Immunitor's article on affordable AIDS drugs

Immunitor Corporation announces publication of 'Low-cost anti-HIV compounds: Potential application for AIDS therapy in developing countries in Current Pharmaceutical Design (Vol. 9(18): pp. 1419-1431, 2003).

Immunitor publishes article on affordable AIDS drugs

Immunitor Corporation -- Thai biotech company- announces publication of 'Low-cost anti-HIV compounds: Potential application for AIDS therapy in developing countries in Current Pharmaceutical Design (Vol. 9(18): pp. 1419-1431, 2003). The abstract of the paper can be found on the PubMed website of the National Library of Medicine (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=12769722&dopt=Abstract). The essential elements of this paper were first presented last year at IAEN symposium: 'Economics of HIV/AIDS in Developing Countries, which was held during 14th International AIDS conference in Barcelona, in July 2002 (www.iaen.org/files.cgi/7014_Bourinbaiar.pdf). IAEN or International AIDS Economics Network is a multinational NGO which focuses on affordable HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment, by providing data, tools, and analysis for researchers and policymakers working to define and implement cost-effective AIDS policy.

Considerable progress has been made in recent years in the field of drug development against HIV. However, the current cost of AIDS drugs is the main obstacle that prevents their use in developing countries, where 98% of HIV-infected patients reside. The average yearly price of AIDS therapy and related health care of affected patients in industrialized countries runs as high as $22,000 -- an amount that corresponds to the combined income of as many as one hundred individuals in developing countries. Even in these countries, patients without medical insurance cannot afford the costly therapy. From the beginning it was clear that the most feasible and economic means of reaching this goal is to identify anti-HIV drugs among already available and preferably over-the-counter pharmaceuticals, which have historically been used for unrelated clinical purposes. Immunitors paper summarizes its own original research relating to development and discovery of affordable and potentially promising AIDS drugs. The anti-HIV activity of drugs and immunomodulating substances such as warfarin, cimetidine, levamisole, acetaminophen, gramicidin, and V-1 Immunitor (an oral AIDS vaccine also known as V1) are described and discussed in relation to their clinical application.

President of Immunitor, pharmacologist Vichai Jirathitikal, noted that '...the publication of this landmark paper coincides with the 2nd anniversary of the public launch of V1 in Thailand. The first mass-distribution took place on June 2, 2001 at Thai-Japan stadium in Bangkok. On that historic day we gave V1 to 4,000 people. During summer and fall of 2001 we have treated free-of-charge 40,000 AIDS patients. Today, over 65,000 patients in more than 60 countries, including 26 countries in Africa, have benefited from our relentless effort. We have been and still are facing the resistance to our work. It is difficult to be a pioneer in this highly competitive field especially if you are from the third world country. Nevertheless despite difficulties and lack of public funds we were able to publish our clinical data in several peer-reviewed international journals and this publication is another proof that a small company like ours can make the difference on global AIDS crisis. For further information and reprints request please write: info@immunitor.com