Drug company
accelerates HIV clinical trial

Encouraging results from early-stage trials of its experimental anti-HIV drug SP01A have led drugmaker Samaritan Pharmaceuticals to accelerate plans for a Phase III trial, the Associated Press reports. The final-stage human trial will begin soon in Europe, even as a Phase II trial of the drug remains under way. The Phase III trial will include 411 patients who will take the drug for 48 weeks, company officials say. SP01A is an experimental entry inhibitor that aims to prevent HIV from entering immune system cells. Studies have shown it is effective in controlling HIV that is resistant to other anti-HIV medications. (The Advocate)