[HARMRED] [Chgo LGBT TF on Sub Ab/use] Chicago-based Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis Study Team Responds to Recent iPrEx Study Results - Forum scheduled for December 15

Wed Dec 15 06:55:20 CST 2010

I wonder how  pre exposure prophy could be more cost effective than sterile syringes. But I guess the drug companies are behind this idea which would inevitably bolster their profit margins. I guess the almighty dollar and those who have a lot of money to spend would support this over sterile syringe exchange as a method of prevention.

----- Original Message -----
From: Robert Heimer [mailto:Robert.Heimer at yale.edu]
Sent: Wednesday, December 15, 2010 07:39 AM
To: Dan Bigg <cra at attglobal.net>
Cc: cratalk at yahoogroups.com <cratalk at yahoogroups.com>; harmred at drcnet.org <harmred at drcnet.org>; ICHRP_Grantees at critpath.org <ICHRP_Grantees at critpath.org>; Jim Pickett <JPickett at aidschicago.org>; ccmtf at lists.critpath.org <ccmtf at lists.critpath.org>
Subject: Re: [HARMRED] [Chgo LGBT TF on Sub Ab/use] Chicago-based Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis Study Team Responds to Recent iPrEx Study Results - Forum scheduled for December 15

And, of course, most injectors have access to systems for providing 
daily medications (aside from the heroin and stimulants they are often 
taking to medicate themselves). While I suppose one could argue that 
"any positive change" includes the provision of pre-exposure 
prophylaxis, it makes very little economic sense to replace a low-tech, 
inexpensive prevention method with a more complicated, more expensive 
one. On the other hand, this is how the healthcare industry supports 
itself such that it has become among the largest and certainly the most 
sustained component of our economy.

Dan Bigg wrote:
> *What do people think about devoting energy to giving a pre-exposure 
> anti-HIV medication to people injecting when it is not even clear that 
> people injecting have sufficient sterile syringes? Could it be a 
> better use of resources to buy a sufficient supply of sterile syringes 
> so that all people injecting and those they see on outreach can have 
> one shot-one sterile syringe???? Instead of a medicine which might 
> prevent infection infection once exposed?*
> *
> *
> *Thanks for your thoughts!*
> *Peace, Dan*
> *
> *
> *
> *
> *Contact:
> *Keith Green
> keith.green at hektoen.org
> Stroger Hospital of Cook County
> Administration Building - Dept. of Psychiatry
> 1900 W. Polk Street, 8th Floor
> Chicago, IL 60612
> (312) 864-8003
>
>
> *FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: **
>
> /Chicago-based Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis Study Team Responds to Recent 
> iPrEx Study Results
>
> /*/Chicago, Illinois - November 29, 2010/ - The research team of 
> Project PrEPare - a Chicago-based pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) 
> trial being conducted through the Adolescent Trials Network for 
> HIV/AIDS Interventions (ATN) - is encouraged by recent data 
> demonstrating that antiretroviral drugs can prevent HIV infection 
> among men who have sex with men and transgendered persons.
>
> The Pre-exposure Prophylaxis Initiative, or iPrEX, was the first 
> clinical trial of its kind. This study showed that the antiretroviral 
> drug Truvada, when offered as a component of a comprehensive 
> prevention package that includes condoms, counseling, and regular 
> HIV/STI screening, was associated with a 44% reduction in HIV 
> infections in participants who took it compared to those who took 
> placebo. Additionally, a nearly 73 percent reduction in infections was 
> seen in participants who took the study drug more than 90 percent of 
> the time.
>
> "Considering the fact that men who have sex with men continue to be 
> disproportionately affected by the HIV epidemic here in Chicago, we 
> are extremely excited to have data to support a new addition to the 
> 'toolbox' of HIV prevention interventions currently available to us," 
> said Sybil Hosek, PhD, Principal Investigator of Project PrEPare. "We 
> must remember, however, that this is only the first step in 
> determining whether or not PrEP could become a part of a comprehensive 
> HIV prevention package in the real world."
>
> The iPrEx study followed 2,499 healthy, "high-risk" gay men, 
> transgender women, and other men who have sex with men from 11 sites 
> located in Peru, Ecuador, Brazil, South Africa, Thailand, and the 
> United States. Participants were randomly assigned to take either one 
> tablet of Truvada (a combination of tenofovir and emtricitabine) or a 
> placebo once a day. Less than 10 percent of the study sample was from 
> the U.S., however, and even fewer represent the ethnic/racial 
> backgrounds of MSM most severely impacted by HIV in this country - 
> Black MSM.
>
> "Since Truvada is already available and is used as a treatment for HIV 
> infection, it is imperative that we educate our communities about the 
> encouraging results of this study but caution high-risk individuals 
> about its limitations," said Margo Bell, MD, Co-Principal Investigator 
> of Project PrEPare. "We don't want people, especially our young 
> people, getting the idea that it's as simple as taking a pill a day to 
> prevent HIV. It is just not that simple."
>
> Project PrEPare is designed to explore the acceptability and 
> feasibility of a PrEP trial among young men who have sex with men in 
> Chicago. The study is primarily funded through the/ Eunice Kennedy 
> Shriver/ National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, 
> with additional support from the National Institute on Drug Abuse 
> (NIDA) and the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). Project 
> PrEPare began enrolling at Chicago's CORE Center and the Howard Brown 
> Health Center in November 2009 and was nearly 66 percent enrolled upon 
> the release of the iPrEx data.
>
> "Moving forward, it will be critical that we get to some of the 
> unanswered questions around the use of PrEP among young MSM in the 
> U.S. through studies like Project PrEPare," said Project Director 
> Keith Green, MSW. "We owe it to our study participants and the 
> Chicagoland YMSM community at large to provide them with as much 
> information as we can about this new prevention technology, so that 
> they can make informed decisions about their health and safety."
>
> A community forum to discuss the iPrEX data and its potential impact 
> on the future directon of Project PrEPare will take place in the 
> Michael Leppen Theater at the Center on Halsted, 3656 N. Halsted, on 
> Wednesday, December 15th 2010 from 6:30-8:30pm. The discussion will be 
> co-facilitated by Jim Pickett, Director of Advocacy for the AIDS 
> Foundation of Chicago and Chair of the International Rectal 
> Microbicide Advocates
>
> For more information on Project PrEPare or to learn how to get 
> involved, contact Keith Green at 773-864-8003 or visit_ 
> www.projectpreparechicago.org_.
>
>
>
> ###
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
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-- 
Robert Heimer
Yale School of Public Health
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U. S. A.

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http://publichealth.yale.edu/faculty/heimer.html
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