The.Lurker@f669.n107.z1.fidonet.org (The Lurker) (10/16/89)
WASHINGTON (UPI) -- The Burroughs Wellcome Co. announced
plans Wednesday to market a strawberry-flavored syrup version of
the AIDS-fighting drug AZT.
AZT or zidovudine -- the sole government-approved drug to
directly fight the AIDS virus -- is available only in capsule
form.
"This new (syrup) formulation should provide more flexibility
in making dosage adjustments and be particularly useful to
patients who have difficulty swallowing capsules," said Kathryn
Pattishall of Burroughs Wellcome.
The AZT syrup, which the Food and Drug Administration
recently judged to be as effective as the capsules, will be
available at pharmacies in four to six weeks, Burroughs Wellcome
said.
Jean McGuire, director of the AIDS Action Council, said the
new formulation should prove helpful to AIDS patients who have
problems swallowing due to mouth and throat infections or sores.
McGuire said she also considered the move encouraging because
it indicates Burroughs Wellcome "is taking a look at the market
and giving it what it needs."
Last month, Burroughs Wellcome, of Research Triangle Park,
N.C., cut the price of AZT by 20 percent in the wake of
widespread protests over its high cost. Before the price was
lowered, AIDS patients had to pay about $8,000 a year for a
daily 12-capsule dose of AZT.
Another company spokeswoman, Kathy Bartlett, said the cost of
the strawberry-flavored AZT syrup would be the same as an equal
dose of AZT capsules. Two teaspoonfuls of the syrup are equal to
one capsule, she added.
Federal researchers recently reported up to 600,000 of the 1
million to 1.5 million Americans infected with the AIDS virus
may benefit from AZT. Included in that group are thousands of
AIDS-infected people who show no signs of full-blown disease,
which can take 10 years or more to appear.
The new studies also found half-doses of AZT worked as well
as higher doses in staving off AIDS without causing the toxic
side effects that trouble many AZT users.
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