indinavir-sulfate and Nervous-System-Diseases

Topics: Adult; AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections; Citalopram; Diagnosis, Differential; Drug Therapy, Combination; HIV Infections; HIV Protease Inhibitors; Humans; Indinavir; Male; Nervous System Diseases; Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors; Serotonin; Syndrome

Merck & Co. has announced it will launch a sizable expanded access program for its protease inhibitor compound MK-639. This is surprising since less than a month earlier it claimed it could not make any substantial quantity of the drug available for at least another year. Citing limits of its present 3TC production, Glaxo has established a quota system of 350 new enrollments per week in its 3TC/AZT combination study. Some believe this is a way Glaxo has found to limit a financial commitment when it is spending $16 billion to buy out Burroughs Wellcome. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is expected to approve the 3TC/AZT combination next Fall. Genentech has announced it will supply its human nerve growth factor (NGF) to a government-sponsored trial (ACTG 291) of the compound in AIDS-related peripheral sensory neuropathy. NGF promises to actually reverse the nerve damage caused by extended dosages of such anti-HIV drugs as ddI, d4T, and especially, ddC.

Topics: CD4 Lymphocyte Count; Clinical Trials as Topic; Didanosine; Drug Industry; Drug Therapy, Combination; HIV Infections; HIV Protease Inhibitors; Humans; Indinavir; Lamivudine; Nerve Growth Factors; Nervous System Diseases; Pyridines; Recombinant Proteins; Stavudine; Zalcitabine; Zidovudine