Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1984. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Associated Press - December 21, 1984
Because the drug, called ribavirin, has already been studied in patients with other illnesses, the testing that often delays drug development has already been completed; thus, trials with AIDS patients could begin very soon, researchers said.
The report of ribavirin's effectiveness against AIDS appears in the current issue of The Lancet, the British medical journal.
Ribavirin is being studied as a possible flu treatment and is nearing approval by the Food and Drug Administration for use against respiratory syncytial virus infections, which interfere with breathing. The drug is made by ICN Pharmaceuticals of Covina, Calif.
Results Termed Preliminary
Dr. Donald Forthal of the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta, where the research was done, noted that success in laboratory, or in-vitro, tests did not necessarily translate into success in patients.
"Even the in-vitro results are preliminary, and its clinical usage is completely unknown," said Dr. Forthal, who is drawing up plans for the clinical research in collaboration with Dr. Joseph McCormick, director of the laboratory studies.
Ribavirin is the second drug that has been shown in laboratory tests to prevent reproduction of the virus that causes AIDS. Victims of AIDS gradually succumb to a variety of infectious diseases and unusual cancers. There is now no cure for the disease.
The first drug, suramin, which is used to treat certain parasitic diseases, was identified as a potential anti-AIDS agent in October at the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Md.
A pilot study of suramin's safety in AIDS patients has been completed, and large-scale trials of the drug at medical centers across the country are beginning, said Dr. Samuel Broder, head of the clinical oncology program at the cancer institute.
Other researchers have tried to combat AIDS with interferon and a substance called interleukin-2. While those drugs can delay the inevitable decline of AIDS patients, they do not eliminate the viral infection that is the source of the disease, Dr. Broder said.
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