Reaction to drug trial cautious

Press, 6 September 1989, Page 4

Reaction to drug trial cautious

PA Wellington New Zealand health officials have reacted cautiously to news that the largest anti-A.I.D.S drug trial is a success. Researchers in the United States stopped the trial when they found the drugs helped infected people even before they showed symptoms. Since June, 1987, 94 people in New Zealand have used the drug and 73 of those are still alive. Zidovudine, formerly known as AZT, has been offered only to people with full A.I.D.S. or to those suffering from A.I.D.S-related complex. The United States trial, involving 3000 people, was to have continued for another year but researchers said they had enough proof that the drug delays the onset of A.I.D.S in infected people who have yet to show symptoms. Zidovudine has been used in New Zealand for. three years and is not given to people without symptoms. It costs $12,000 a year a person. It does not cure A.I.D.S. but gives, at most, an 18month respite. Researchers suspected the infection takes hold again because the H.I.V. virus develops resistance to the drug. •. The Health Department’s principal medical officer, Dr Canagaratnam Sri Ananda, said that in spite of the high cost, the drug could benefit more people. The trials were yet to be confirmed but if they proved Zidovudine did help asymptomatic people then the Government would have to decide if it

was prepared to spend the money, he said. Zidovudine produced serious side-effects which meant it might not be the correct course of treatment for people with no symptoms, said Dr Sri Ananda. The co-ordinator of the People with A.I.D.S Collective, Mr Daniel Fielding, said the side-effects ranged from mild nausea and vomiting to severe anemia. Although the drug delayed the onset of A.1.D.5., the virus remained in the body and seemed to become stronger after about 18 months, he said. There was some concern about making the drug widely available to asymptomatic people, said Mr Fielding. Because A.I.D.S. could take from seven to 10 years to develop fully, the virus would become resistant to Zidovudine before people really needed relief. Although Zidovudine could become more widely used, many people were eagerly awaiting drug trials in France where researchers had been testing Imuthiol, he said. Imuthiol is not a new drug — it comes from the same family as Antibuse, which is used with alcoholics. Mr Fielding said the drug was more promising than Zidovudine. “It has considerably fewer side-effects — perhaps some nausea.” Imuthiol built up the immune system so the body could fight the disease, he said. It is also expected to be cheap. Compared to the course of Zidovudine at $12,000 a year, Imuthiol could be as little as $3OO.