tomislav vurusic - hiv treatment and activism
DESCRIPTION
6th Regional Conference in Sarajevo, May 17-18 2012.TRANSCRIPT
Tomislav VurušićLux Vitae
Pula, Croatia
HIV treatment activism –
bridge that connects
History of AIDS
1981: First AIDS cases reported
1980ies: Community-based treatment research
1984: HIV described
1987: first AIDS-treatment approved (azidothymidine, AZT)
1991: didanosine (ddI) & zalcitabine (ddC) approved
2012: 26 antiretroviral drugs (ARVs)
The Denver Principles (1983)
People with AIDS (PWAs) meet in Denver for the conference “Health Pioneering in the Eighties”
“We condemn attempts to label us as "victims," a term which implies defeat, and we are only occasionally "patients," a term which implies passivity, helplessness, and dependence upon the care of others. We are "People With AIDS."
"Nothing about Us, Without Us“
HIV treatment history
All known antibacterial or antiviral treatments were ineffective
No governmental agency or pharmaceutical company made any efforts in therapeutical research
Only some basic biological research was fundedGovernment-sponsored research into treatment
options started in the U.S.A. only after gay men had demonstrated for the administration‘s support for treatment research
Community organized small clinical trials on some experimental compounds
E.g. a trial including ribavirin and isoprinosine
With the support from volunteering physicians and scientists, community-based organizations had undertaken some of the first treatment trials in the AIDS field
1987 approval of AZT as first AIDS treatment Anti-cancer compound in 1960 never developped Today known as zidovudine – ZDV (Retrovir)
Project Inform – San Francisco
1985: Project Inform created by Martin Delaney & others
1989: a parallel track program for ddI annouced by Project Inform and U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
included much more patients and had less restrictive entry criteria
Early 1990s: Project Inform instrumental in introducing accelerated approval & expanded access programmes
“Who should decide which risks are acceptable, the bureaucracy in Washington or the patient whose life is on the line?”
Delaney, “Acceptable Risks” (Poseidon Press, 1992)
Act Up – New York
1987: Act Up created by Larry Kramer, playwright & author (GMHC founder)
use of placebos in clinical trials has been one of the most controversial issues in clinical AIDS research and other disease areas
1989: ACT UP New York demanded an end to placebo-controlled trials that required "body counts" or a „death toll“ to prove efficacy
AIDS activism in Europe
In 1989, 1990, the European situation differed from the US
Drug companies would initiate clinical trials in Europe only after they had obtained positive results from trials in the US
delay in access to treatments in Europe
early 1992: AIDS activists from 10 European countries met in Berlin to found an organization which aimed to overcome these difficulties and accelerate access to experimental treatments in Europe
European AIDS Treatment Group (EATG) was founded One of first initiative was EU-wide EAP (expanded access program)
EATG in 1992
Scope: To achieve effective treatment & access to experimental therapies
for as many PLWHA as possible & as soon as possible. To enable people with HIV to have maximum control over the
treatment and research agenda.
Focus on: Research priorities and ethics Access to information Access to medical services Access to experimental drugs Pan-European communication
EATG today
>90 members, majority PLWHA, cca. 35 countries, WHO Europe
Working Groups: ECAB, PWG, DMAGEuropean Community Advisory Board:
Scientific research, drug development, research networks, EMA - under confidentiality
Policy Working Group: Policy & advocacy work – Commission, Parliament, multilateral organisations
Development and Membership Advisory Group: Development, governance
Challenges of HIV treatment activism
Continuous funding for HIV/AIDS treatment and care
Access to treatments in underserved communities and/or regions
Establishing a standard of care
End to discrimination to PLWHA
Involvement and active participation in research and trials
Access to information
Tratment interruptions
Case of South Eastern Europe
Registration of drugs very late (e.g. Croatia) Abacavir: FDA (1998), EMA (1999), Croatia (2005) Efavirenz: FDA (1998), EMA (1999), Croatia (2004) TDF/FTC: FDA (2004), EMA (2005), Croatia (2009)
Registration of a drug doesn’t mean immediately availability for people in need
Health insurance drug list and price of a drug
Donation by pharmaceutical company of needed drug
Emergency guidance on ART forced treatment interruptions due to drug unavailability (forced stock-outs) for people living with HIV and their care providers in Europe and Central Asia
Issued by the European AIDS Treatment Group, October 2011
Treatment activism organisations in region
EATG (European AIDS Treatment Group)
NeLP (Network of low-prevalence countries in Central and South-East Europe)
Central and South East Europe
Budapest Declaration (NeLP)
Key areas: Treatment and care Prevention Key populations Policies and legislations
The Website www.nelp-hiv.org
• Country profiles• Epidemiological fact sheets• Prevention• Treatment and care (ARV – prices)• Institutional background: health services, financing of
services• Legislation
• Budapest declaration• News
Who are activists?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1-j0hLgPEQ
Song from a movie “And The Band Played On (1993)
Thank you!!!
"Care for us and accept us - we are all human beings. We are normal. We have hands. We have feet. We can walk, we can talk, we have needs just like everyone else - don't be afraid of us - we are all the same!“
Nkosi Johnson (February 4, 1989 – June 1, 2001)
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