( hose who received TMC114 alone. The res...)New Drugs in Multinational Study Show Promise in Fighting,Drug-Resistant HIV,Health

For the DUET trial, Kaiser Permanente enrolled the most patients of all the participating centers in the United States and was the third largest enroller in the world. Nationally, Kaiser Permanente is the second largest provider of HIV care, caring for more than 17,000 HIV infected patients. More than one million Americans are currently living with HIV, and the HIV/AIDS virus has killed more than 524,000 Americans to date.

Dr. Towner added that the trial is most uniquely significant because it utilized another novel HIV medication, TMC114 (in a class of HIV drugs called protease inhibitors; TMC114 was still an investigational agent when the trial started).

According to Dr. Towner, "Treating a resistant virus with two active agents has been a mantra in HIV care for quite some time. Adding only one active agent to a patient experiencing drug failure usually results in the rapid, predictable development of resistance to that agent. Very seldom do patients get the chance to receive two potent new investigational agents in one clinical trial. The DUET trials were one of the first to give the patients such a chance."

Dr. Towner is the Medical Director of Kaiser Permanente Southern California's HIV/AIDS Research Trials (HART) and the Kaiser Permanente Southern California Regional HIV/AIDS Physician Coordinator. The HART Program was founded in order to ensure that Kaiser Permanente HIV patients with advanced disease have access to the latest drugs.

Kaiser Permanente is America's leading integrated health plan. Founded in 1945, it is a not-for-profit, group practice program headquartered in Oakland, Calif. Kaiser Permanente serves more than 8.7 million members in nine states and the District of Columbia. Today it encompasses the not-for-profi
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