HIV Digest	HIV Digest Archive

Hoffman-La Roche Inc. announced plans to make its AIDS drug Fuzeon widely available. The medication will be sold at retail and specialty pharmacies nationwide.

Fuzeon, the first in a new class of AIDS drugs, works by blocking HIV from entering immune cells. According to Jules Levin, executive director of the National AIDS Treatment Advocacy Project, Fuzeon's use has been limited by its cost and by physicians' belief that patients could not tolerate the twice-daily injections and injection-site irritation. No other side effects are common. "The drug is very important for people who... have few or no options for treatment," Levin said, adding that "it's better to use it a little earlier than to wait until the bitter end" when it's likely to be less effective.

View our poll archive

Initially, Hoffman-La Roche limited access to Fuzeon to ensure that patients who began using it could continue receiving it, since missed doses can lead to drug resistance. Doctors had to order Fuzeon through a single specialty pharmacy company, which shipped it after determining that an insurer would pay. Some insurers, Levin said, still make doctors get pre-approval for the prescription, requiring extra paperwork and a second office visit. Hoffman-La Roche spokesperson Pamela Van Houton said the company has expanded its manufacturing capacity so that doctors can now give patients a prescription to fill at any pharmacy.

Hoffman-La Roche said Fuzeon's high price is due to the complexity of its six-month manufacturing process, which involves 44 raw materials and more than 100 steps.

Editor's Note: from the Associated Press