MEDICAL UPDATE: Update on D4T and 3TC

MEDICAL UPDATE: Update on D4T and 3TC

Being Alive; February 1994
Mark Katz MD and reported by Jim Stoecker

Bristol-Myers-Squibb, the manufacturers of D4T, is reported to be applying for the drug's licensing. Some predict that the FDA will approve D4T sometime within the first half of this year.

Although full study data on D4T has not yet been released, we do hear that early results show that D4T brings about a higher and more sustained rise in T-cells than is found with current antivirals. The anecdotal evidence says that people on D4T seem to do well.

And we should point out that the people taking D4T are those who are intolerant of or get no efficacy from AZT/ddI/ddC. This group tends to have T-cell counts at the lower end of the spectrum. Will D4T be even more efficacious for those at higher T-cell levels? Will it become a first-line drug, as AZT is today? We need more studies to answer these questions.

Studies of 3TC are underway and no data are yet available. Glaxo, the manufacturer of 3TC, has set up a compassionate use program for those who are unable to use the other four available antivirals (AZT, ddI, ddC and D4T). For information on this program, call 1.800.248.9757.

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