Bangkok Post - May 30, 2001
Aphaluck Bhatiasevi

Paisal Tan-ud, of the Network for People with HIV/Aids in Thailand, said his group was not against the clinic, but wanted it to provide only accurate information so that HIV/Aids carriers would not place false hopes in the V-1 Immunitor drug being dispensed by the clinic.

People should not be misled into believing the drug can cure their infection, Mr Paisal said.

"I too visited the clinic and was asked to stop taking Cytomoxazole for my lung infection. I don't want others to stop taking medication for opportunistic infections just because they want to take the V-1 Immunitor drug," he said. Dr Praphan Phanuphak, of the Thai Red Cross Society's Aids Research Centre, said it was dangerous to stop patients from taking drugs for opportunistic infections, because that could cause their health to deteriorate.

Also, it was unwise to advise patients to stop taking anti-retroviral drugs since incomplete dosage could cause drug resistance, Dr Praphan said.

According to Dr Montri Sethabutr, who heads the clinic, patients who want the V-1 Immunitor must stop taking all other drugs, so that the effectiveness of his product can be measured.

Dr Montri, also deputy chairman of the Salang Bunnag Foundation, insisted his clinic was operating on legal grounds, and that the V-1 Immunitor pills were being distributed free of charge.

"How can I deny them the drug when the patients queue up in front of my clinic? I have neither advertised nor persuaded them to come to me," Dr Montri said.

The clinic, in Chachoengsao province, has distributed the V-1 Immunitor pills, made of calcium and magnesium mixed with remains of the Aids virus, free of charge for almost two years.

Rumours of the drug's effectiveness as an Aids cure have drawn more than 600 patients to the clinic, raising concern among health officials and non-governmental organisations working on HIV/Aids.

The Public Health Ministry has asked the Medical Registration Division to look into the operation of the clinic, while the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has been assigned to examine the registration of the V-1 Immunitor.

The product had been registered as a food supplement with the provincial health office. The FDA said that was inappropriate since the V-1 Immunitor must be registered as a drug.

Suraphong Suebwonglee, deputy public health minister, said people with HIV/Aids should not be misled into believing the V-1 Immunitor could kill the Aids virus and cure them completely.

Further research was needed to verify such claims, he added.

But Dr Montri said he had sufficient information to confirm that his patients' health had improved after taking the V-1 Immunitor.

Supatra Nakapiew, of the Human Rights On Aids Centre, on Monday filed a complaint with police, urging them to look into the clinic's distribution of the drugs.

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