For those of you trying to get on two active drugs….
You can get TMC 114 in expanded access. It is taking about 3 weeks to get it if the doctor knows the process. No T cell limit but your doctor has to prove that you have multi drug resistance. Three hours of paper work. Your doctor does not get paid for that time. Many doctors refused to be part of this system. To see who is listed in your area, email info@veritasmedicine.com and read
https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct/show/NCT00245739?order=1
Remember: TMC 114 will probably be approved in a month or so. TMC 114 is a second generation protease, and not a replacement to Fuzeon. Some people may be thinking about taking this drug with Merck’s integrase (info below) to get off Fuzeon. We really do not know much about how to compare a Fuzeon containing regimen with this one.
Never start a new agent on top of a failing regimen. This is called virtual monotherapy and only works for a little while. Read more here
https://salvagetherapies.org/announcements.htm
If you have multidrug resistance and very low T cells…like under 10, you can qualify for a single patient access program that requires a lot of work from your doctor. Most doctors do not know how to do it. Read the last link about that.
The Merck integrase study is now enrolling fast in phase III. This is a very promising drug (MRK518). They allow the use of TMC 114 in expanded access. Bad news: you have a 33% chance of placebo but they will give you the real thing in 16 weeks if your viral load is not undetectable then.
You can find out more about this here
https://benchmrk.com/secure/investigator_sites/sites.html
This product MAY be in expanded access by the end of the year if Merck enrolls the study fully by then.
Pfizer’s oral entry inhibitor Maraviroc: we are waiting to hear from the company to see if this product is a go or no go for treatment experienced patients. We will not know until they unblind their study in August.
Email me if you have any questions since this can be very confusing.
You can read some people’s testimonials at
https://salvagetherapies.org/testimonials.html