2003

Once a Breadbasket, Zimbabwe Today Can't Feed Itself: Politics, Drought, AIDS Bring A Severe Food Shortage; Aid Is Coming Up Short: Wall Street Journal - December 24, 2003; Roger Thurow, Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal; PUPU, Zimbabwe -- There will be no traditional Christmas goat roasting on a spit here this year, and no Christmas chickens, either. The prospect of Christmas beer dried up long ago, along with the supplies of sorghum used for brewing. The big holiday helpings of corn meal will be smaller than usual, for corn, the natio
Abbott Lifts Price of Norvir 400%: Cost of Longtime HIV Drug Jumps, Reigniting Debate Over Drug Pricing Policies: Wall Street Journal - December 19, 2003; Vanessa Fuhrmans, Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal; Abbott Laboratories has raised the U.S. price of a key AIDS drug by 400%, a move that could roil the market for HIV treatments and has already reignited the debate over drug pricing policies. The medication is called Norvir , a protease inhibitor that hasn t been a lucrative seller for Abbott but is widely used in
Hijacking the Fight Against AIDS: Wall Street Journal - December 17, 2003; Donna M. Hughes**; The cremated remains of 50 Thai women are shipped home from Japan by the Thai embassy each year. Their death certificates list AIDS as the cause of death, but according to the Thai ambassador: They are dying of enslavement. Most of the approximately 15,000 Thai women illegal immigrants in Japan are owned by organized
U.S. AIDS Funds Draw Criticism In Global Study: Wall Street Journal - December 15, 2003; Michael Waldholz, Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal; The U.S. is by far the world s largest single donor of funding to fight the AIDS epidemic in poor nations, but the amount it and others are providing now and promising in the future falls far short of what is needed, according to a report from the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation. The U.S. is expected to spend abou
GSK, Boehringer to Allow More Generic AIDS Drugs: Wall Street Journal - December 10, 2003; Julia Flynn and Mark Schoofs, Staff Reporters of The Wall Street Journal; LONDON -- In a move that could dramatically lower the cost of AIDS drugs in Africa, two pharmaceuticals companies agreed Wednesday to allow more generic versions of their patented AIDS medicines to be made in South Africa and other sub-Saharan countries. As part of an out-of-court settlement Wednesday with AIDS activis
Bush Steps Back From Pledge Of Huge Sums to Fight AIDS: The Wall Street Journal - December 10, 2003; Michael M. Phillips, Staff Reporter; WASHINGTON -- President Bush plans to ask Congress for relatively small funding increases to fight AIDS and poverty in the developing world, stepping back from his highly publicized pledge to spend huge sums to help fight them. With the federal budget stretched to pay for the war in
The Genetic Front Lines: At the Salk Institute, the promise of gene therapy has never seemed brighter. But the risks have never been more obvious.: Wall Street Journal - December 9, 2003; Bernard Wysocki Jr., Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal; LA JOLLA, Calif. -- More than a decade has passed since scientists began a form of genetic engineering known as gene therapy, injecting genes into living organisms as reinforcements in the body s battle against a variety of serious diseases. From the start, the technique seemed full of both promise and pitfalls. And th
Trials Will Test Whether AIDS Drug Can Also Prevent HIV: Wall Street Journal - December 4, 2003; Marilyn Chase, Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal; Three provocative studies, to be launched next year, will test the ability of a pill to prevent HIV infection in people, raising the possibility that the spread of AIDS can be curbed. The pill, Viread by Gilead Sciences Inc., is already widely used to treat AIDS. But now it is sparking hope that it can act as a shi
U.N. Agency Sets $5.5 Billion Plan To Fight AIDS: World Health Orgnization Aims to Distribute Drugs To 3 Million by End of 2005: Wall Street Journal - December 1, 2003; Gautam Naik, Staff Reporter Of The Wall Street Journal; LONDON -- Acknowledging that the global spread of AIDS is probably the toughest health assignment the world has ever faced, the World Health Organization is launching an ambitious $5.5 billion plan to make HIV drugs available to three million infected patients by the end of 2005. Although the plan doesn t provide some
Discovery Might Hold the Key To Drugs, Vaccine for SARS: Wall Street Journal - November 28, 2003; Antonio Regalado, Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal; A team of scientists in Boston has found a receptor on human cells that the SARS virus uses to invade them and multiply. The discovery may help guide efforts to create drugs and vaccines for treating severe acute respiratory syndrome, the new infectious illness that killed 774 people and sickened more than 7,000 others
AIDS Deaths Rise by Three Million: Wall Street Journal - November 25, 2003; Marilyn Chase, Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal; People living with HIV or AIDS total about 40 million world-wide, a figure down from the 42 million originally estimated for 2002, said the United Nations AIDS Secretariat and the World Health Organization . The lower estimate isn t due to any slowing of the global epidemic but rather to revised data collection and sta
Estimated AIDS Cases Fall On Statistical Adjustments: Wall Street Journal - November 25, 2003; Marilyn Chase, Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal; People living with HIV/AIDS now total about 40 million world-wide, a figure down from the 42 million estimated for 2002, said the United Nations AIDS Secretariat and the World Health Organization . The lower estimate isn t due to any slowing of the global pandemic, but rather to revised data-collection and statistical-
Syphilis Cases Increase by 12%, Continuing a Rise: Wall Street Journal - November 21, 2003; Marilyn Chase and Betsy Mckay, Staff Reporters of The Wall Street Journal; Syphilis case reports surged 12% in 2002, rising for the second year in a row, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned. The increases followed a decade of decline and a low in 2000. Syphilis cases among men rose more than 27%, with the largest increase -- more than 85% -- seen in white men. Cases ros
Credit Where It's Due: Wall Street Journal - November 20, 2003; Bill Clinton*; South Africa has taken a major step in the battle against HIV and AIDS, one that may help the world defeat the pandemic once and for all. Yesterday s decision by the South African cabinet to approve a plan for the nationwide treatment of people living with HIV and AIDS is a milestone for a country that has one of the
South Africa Changes Course With Aggressive AIDS Plan: Wall Street Journal - November 19, 2003; Mark Schoofs, Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal; CAPE TOWN, South Africa -- In a dramatic shift in its AIDS policy, the South African government Wednesday said it would undertake the world s largest AIDS treatment program by providing the expensive and complex AIDS drug regimens free of charge in the public sector. The decision ends years of divisive debate that dela
Agreement Is Near On a $17.3 Billion Foreign-Aid Budget: Wall Street Journal - November 18, 2003; David Rogers, Staff Reporter; WASHINGTON -- House and Senate negotiators approved substantial new funding to fight AIDS overseas while cutting by half President Bush s request for his prized initiative challenging poor countries to move toward democracy and open markets. Monday night s action came as lawmakers neared agreement on an estimated $17.3
Pfizer Makes Aid Pledge, Breaks Pact on AIDS Drug: Wall Street Journal - November 12, 2003; Scott Hensley, Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal; At Pfizer Inc., while one hand gave, the other was taking away. Tuesday, the pharmaceutical giant pledged $500 million toward eradication of a common form of blindness in the developing world. Yet almost simultaneously, Pfizer retreated from a novel licensing deal for an AIDS drug that had been hailed as a new way to
Canada Moves to Implement WTO Pact on Generic Drugs: Wall Street Journal - November 7, 2003; Elena Cherney, Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal; The Canadian government introduced legislation to implement a landmark World Trade Organization agreement aimed at improving poor countries access to generic versions of patented medications. The proposed amendment to Canada s patent law would allow generic-drug makers to produce lower-cost medicines for export to poor
Apparent Mix-Up Has Prompted 'Scientific McCarthyism' Charges: Wall Street Journal - October 30, 2003; Mark Ingebretsen, Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal; Apparently it was all a misunderstanding; nevertheless, the story below shows how politics can clash with science -- and to the detriment of both. Things got off on the wrong foot when the National Institutes of Health placed over 150 researchers on notice in recent weeks that lawmakers were taking a skeptical look at
The FDA's Approval of Drugs Doesn't Ensure Biotech Riches: Wall Street Journal - October 29, 2003; David P. Hamilton, Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal; It may take the average biotech more than a decade or longer to bring a drug to market. But once a biotech makes it across the finish line by winning regulatory approval for its first product, it s time for celebration, right? Not exactly. Consider Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc., a Cambridge, Mass., biotech that s been ar
Clinton Program Would Help Poor Nations Get AIDS Drugs: The Wall Street Journal - October 23, 2003; Mark Schoofs, Staff Reporter; Former President Bill Clinton plans to announce Thursday a landmark program that attacks two of the toughest obstacles to treating AIDS in the developing world: high drug prices and low-quality health infrastructures. The Clinton Foundation HIV/AIDS Initiative has clinched a deal with four generic-drug companies, inclu
Study Suggests the Effectiveness Of AIDS Retroviral Drug Therapy: Wall Street Journal - October 21, 2003; Mark Ingebretsen; New research into the demographics of AIDS reveals that about 90% of those with the disease can expect to live 10 years or longer, according to an article in HealthDayNews. The results of the study, which appear in the journal Lancet, Have boosted optimism that AIDS can be transformed from a killer disease into a chro
The Real Drug Problem: Forgetting to Take Them -- As Many as Half of Patients Fail to Follow Their Regimen; a Pillbox That Can Nag: Wall Street Journal - October 21, 2003; Amy Dockser Marcus, Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal; It has become one of the most perplexing problems in medicine: Only about half of the people on prescription drugs actually take them. Much of the national debate focuses on how to help more people afford costly medicines, but that in many ways has masked the increasingly urgent problem of getting patients to take medi
AIDS Damage to Brain Charted, Raising Hopes on Treatment: Wall Street Journal - October 14, 2003; Tamsin Carlisle, Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal; Canadian AIDS researchers have taken an important step toward unraveling the mystery of how the human immunodeficiency virus causes brain damage, raising hopes of developing better treatments for an AIDS complication that causes devastating neurological symptoms in many patients living with the deadly disease. While do
Gates Doubles Donation To Fight AIDS in India: Wall Street Journal - October 14, 2003; Marilyn Chase, Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal; The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation said it is doubling its commitment to fighting AIDS in India to $200 million, and disbursed the first $65 million in grants to groups working with truckers, sex workers and drug users at high risk. Last year Mr. Gates, the Microsoft founder-turned-philanthropist, visited India and
Canada Looks Set to Export Generic Drugs to Poor Nations: Wall Street Journal - October 2, 2003; Elena Cherney and Christopher J. Chipello, Staff Reporters of The Wall Street Journal; TORONTO -- In a first for a Group of Seven industrial country, Canada appears poised to allow exports to poor countries of generic versions of patented medications for treating infectious diseases such as AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis. Paul Martin, who is in line to succeed the retiring Jean Chretien as Canada s prim
NIH Plans 'Road Map' For Medical Research: Wall Street Journal - October 1, 2003; Antonio Regalado, Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal; The National Institutes of Health announced a road map for the future of U.S. investment in medical research, including 28 initiatives ranging from new computer centers to better ways of measuring pain. To speed the discovery of new medicines, the NIH said, the U.S. must create technologies for probing cells, get physi
Study Suggests Genetic Piece To SARS Puzzle: Wall Street Journal - October 1, 2003; Matt Pottinger, Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal; Hong Kong -- Scientists in Taiwan say they have found evidence to support a surprising, though tentative, hypothesis: SARS may be deadlier to patients born with a gene found in 10% to 15% of people of southern-Chinese ancestry.
Bogus Medicines Put Spotlight On World of Drug Distributors: Wall Street Journal - September 29, 2003; Anna Wilde Mathews and Heather Won Tesoriero, Staff Reporters of The Wall Street Journal; Prescription drugs are among the most tightly regulated products in the American marketplace, with strict oversight of drug factories and pharmacies. But in between lies a vast industry with far less regulation that s now getting a lot more scrutiny: drug distributors. A spate of cases of counterfeit medicine showing u
Peptide T Holds Promise In Fight Against AIDS: Wall Street Journal - September 29, 2003; Marilyn Chase, Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal; One of the most stubborn problems in treating HIV/AIDS is the difficulty of attacking the virus where it hides in silently infected cells. These cells, sometimes called latently infected cells, contain a reservoir of virus that fuels the disease but remains out of reach of powerful antiviral drug cocktails. Now in a sm
Mother/Child HIV Program In South Africa Could Be Model: Wall Street Journal - September 26, 2003; Michael Waldholz; Though an especially gloomy report was presented to the United Nations this week on the global fight against AIDS, at least one relatively inexpensive program is becoming a model for preventing HIV infections among newborns. At an aging hospital on the edge of the rough-and-tumble Soweto section of Johannesburg in
FDA Chief Targets Europe's Controls On Drug Prices: Wall Street Journal - September 25, 2003; Anna Wilde Mathews, Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal; WASHINGTON -- The head of the Food and Drug Administration is expected to warn that wealthy nations need to more fairly share the cost of developing new drugs, and to criticize price controls maintained by some European and other countries that force Americans to shoulder too much of the burden. The message from
Fakes in the Medicine Chest: As Drug Counterfeiting Rises, FDA May Propose Changes In Sales, Distribution Network: Wall Street Journal - September 22, 2003; Leila Abboud, Anna Wilde Mathews And Heather Won Tesoriero, Staff Reporters of The Wall Street Journal; Recent court cases and federal investigations provide growing evidence that counterfeit drugs are getting onto pharmacy shelves and into the hands of consumers. The Food and Drug Administration may spotlight the issue as early as this week when it issues a draft plan that is expected to call for sweeping changes in the
Glaxo HIV Drugs Face Pressure: Competition, Calls for Price Cuts Weaken Company's Dominance Of a Maturing Global Market: Wall Street Journal - September 22, 2003; Gautam Naik, Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal; LONDON -- Global pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline PLC has dominated the market for HIV drugs ever since it launched AZT , the first drug for the disease, more than 15 years ago. These days the British company s position is looking less secure. A big reason is that the global market for HIV drugs has matured.
Gates Foundation Gives $168 Million To Projects to Study, Prevent Malaria: Wall Street Journal - September 22, 2003; Marilyn Chase, Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal; The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation said it awarded $168 million in grants to projects devoted to the treatment and prevention of malaria in Africa, a continent besieged by the mosquito-borne disease. World-wide, malaria sickens up to 500 million people a year and kills 1.2 million to 2.7 million people a year. Most
The Changing Face Of AIDS in the U.S.: Increase Among Blacks Raises Questions About How to Better Fight the Disease: Wall Street Journal - September 11, 2003; Michael Waldholz; The changing demographics of HIV/AIDS in the U.S. are stirring a host of discomfiting race-related concerns about the best way to fight the deadly disease these days. The latest statistics show that African-Americans account for 54% of the 43,000 or so new cases of HIV infection in the U.S. last year, up from 35% of n
Bush's Talk About Spending Discipline Is So Much Hot Air: Wall Street Journal - September 9, 2003; Alan Murray; WASHINGTON -- For a moment last week, President Bush reminded me of Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf, the Iraqi information minister who became a favorite of late-night comics for his brazen denial of reality. Mr. Bush, in a speech in Kansas City outlining his economic plans, assumed a look of steely determination in saying the
Brazil to Stir Up AIDS-Drug Battle: Nation to Authorize Imports of Generics, Citing the Cost of Big Companies' Drugs: Wall Street Journal - September 5, 2003; Miriam Jordan, Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal; SAO PAULO, Brazil -- Raising the stakes in a high-profile battle over drug prices, Brazil is expected to publish a decree Friday that authorizes imports of generic versions of patented AIDS drugs that the country says it can no longer afford to buy from multinational pharmaceuticals companies. The decision drew pr
Bush Watchword: Tolerance: White House Strategists Target Gains Among Hispanics, Moderate Whites: Wall Street Journal - September 3, 2003; Jeanne Cummings, Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal; WASHINGTON -- From Pretoria, South Africa , to Pittsburgh, President Bush this summer is touting an agenda of boosting minority homeownership, improving inner-city schools and giving government money to church-based counseling programs. A campaign tailor-made to appeal exclusively to blacks? Not exactly. Mr. Bush is p
Russian Drug Official Criticizes U.S. for Afghan Heroin Surge: Wall Street Journal - August 11, 2003; Mark Schoofs, Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal; MOSCOW -- Calling attention to a growing sore spot between Washington and Moscow, Russia s newly appointed top drug cop said the U.S. could do more to reduce the flow of heroin from Afghanistan . Gen. Viktor Cherkessov, whose appointment this spring to head Russia s huge new drug-enforcement agency signals Moscow s new
Bayer AG Unit, 4 Others Are Sued Over Medicine: Taiwan Citizens Allege Firms Knew Clotting Drug Could Have HIV Taint: Wall Street Journal - August 11, 2003; Jason Dean, Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal; TAIPEI, Taiwan -- Lawyers representing seven Taiwan citizens have filed suit in a California court against the U.S. unit of Bayer AG of Germany and four other pharmaceutical companies, alleging the companies knowingly sold hemophilia medi
South Africa to Form Plan On Delivering AIDS Drugs: Wall Street Journal - August 11, 2003; Mark Schoofs, Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal; JOHANNESBURG, South Africa -- After years of acrimonious debate between AIDS activists and South African President Thabo Mbeki, the country s cabinet has ordered the health department as a matter of urgency to develop a detailed operational plan on how to deliver so-called antiretroviral AIDS drugs in public hospitals
Argentine Rx: Take 70 Beetles And Call Me in the Morning: Doctors Doubt Assertion Bugs Can Cure Ailments: Wall Street Journal - August 6, 2003; Matt Moffett, Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal; OBERA, Argentina -- The stress of living in this economically hobbled nation can wear a body down. So Ruben Dieminger takes strong measures to boost his immune system. Prying open a plastic container that holds a wriggling mass of small brown beetles, Mr. Dieminger shook about a dozen into a glass of lemon-flavored so
Medical Data Can Show Up On a Person's Credit Report: Congress Moves to Limit Access to Information: Wall Street Journal - August 6, 2003; Sean Marciniak, Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal; It isn t supposed to be there, but medical data can show up in your credit report. It means your banker, after seeing that credit-card payment you made to the local psychiatrist, might decide he would rather not give you a loan. Congress is attempting to come to the rescue. Last month, the House Committee on Financial
States Win AIDS-Drugs Discounts By Joining Forces With Companies, Officials Save $65 Million Annually: Wall Street Journal - August 6, 2003; Vanessa Fuhrmans , Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal; State health officials have won about $65 million in annual price concessions for AIDS treatments from drug makers after banding together to increase their negotiating clout. The initiative, which involved more than four months of negotiations, marks the first time that all 56 state and territorial AIDS drug-assistance
China May Apply Lessons From SARS to Fight AIDS: Wall Street Journal - August 4, 2003; Leslie Chang, Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal; BEIJING -- As China emerges from the shadow of severe acute respiratory syndrome, Beijing appears to be shifting its attention to another disease that is infectious, feared and potentially fatal: AIDS. China last week declared its last 12 SARS patients free of the virus, marking the final chapter in a months-long campa
Sex, Drugs and Junior Year Abroad: Doctors Work to Protect Travelers: Wall Street Journal - July 31, 2003; Andrea Petersen, Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal; As kids trek through Europe on post-graduation jaunts or plan soul-searching trips to Nepal and junior years abroad, many parents are probably worried about terrorism and mysterious viruses. They re nervous about the wrong things. The real scourges of overseas travel are far more mundane: pregnancy, drug use and m
Rise in HIV Cases Stirs Fears of a Resurgence: Diagnoses of HIV Rise Among Gays, Bisexuals: Wall Street Journal - July 29, 2003; Betsy Mckay, Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal; ATLANTA -- The number of gay and bisexual men diagnosed with the AIDS virus rose in 2002 for the third year in a row in the U.S., fueling concerns about a potential resurgence of the disease and a growing debate over the federal government s plans for fighting it. After steady declines during the late 1990s, diagnoses
Cost Limits Treatment Of HIV, AIDS in India: Wall Street Journal - July 28, 2003; Julia Angwin, Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal; CHENNAI, India -- Munuswamy Suresh used to be a middle-class Indian. He owned a 2,000-square foot house with three bedrooms, two bathrooms and a garage. But since last year, he has been on the verge of poverty. Mr. Suresh, his wife and his parents have been sharing a rented three bedroom, one bathroom house with two o
Bush's Tax Cuts Hit Foreign-Aid Plan: Wall Street Journal - July 25, 2003; David Rogers, Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal; WASHINGTON -- President Bush s tax cuts are coming back to bite him, as his prized foreign-aid initiatives now must compete within the tight spending limits of the Republican budget plan. Early Thursday morning, after a long night of debate, the House approved a $17.1 billion foreign-aid bill that would cut almost $1.8
Congressional Negotiators Face Adversity on Prescription Drugs: Wall Street Journal - July 25, 2003; Mark Ingebretsen; While members of the House and Senate struggle to hammer together a compromise Medicare prescription drug program, potential problems with the legislation were revealed this week, possibly slowing down the already arduous process. Both the U.S. House and Senate versions of bills to add prescription drug coverage to the
Many Scientists Support Free Access to Research: Wall Street Journal - July 24, 2003; Mark Ingebretsen; Some scientists believe that without free access to the vast volumes of genetic data via the Internet, the human genome wouldn t have been completed nearly as fast. Yet in the world of research and academic publishing, free access is often the exception rather than the rule. The Chicago Tribune reported that Most jour
No New Drugs: Wall Street Journal - July 21, 2003; Criticism of the proposed Medicare prescription drug benefit has rightly emphasized its cost to taxpayers. But another price could be lost lives due to a decline in the number of innovative new medicines. As part of the deal to secure one-vote passage of its Medicare bill last month, the House will soon be voting on a
Ritalin Shows Promise in Treating Lethargy, Depression in Elderly: Wall Street Journal - July 17, 2003; Christopher Windham, Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal; The stimulant Ritalin, long the subject of fierce debate about whether it is overprescribed for children with attention problems, is showing promise in treating elderly patients, some doctors say. Geriatricians who have prescribed the drug say it can quickly combat depression and apathy in seniors suffering from a vari
FDA to Battle Counterfeit Drugs Stiff Penalties, High-Tech Packaging, Distribution Control Make Agenda: Wall Street Journal - July 17, 2003; Leila Abboud, Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal; WASHINGTON -- The Food and Drug Administration is launching a battle against counterfeit pharmaceuticals, which have been cropping up with greater frequency and growing more sophisticated. FDA Commissioner Mark McClellan said that to combat fakes, the agency will consider use of high-technology packaging, closing gaps
AIDS-Fighting Drugs, Money Are Only Half the Solution: Wall Street Journal - July 16, 2003; Mark Ingebretsen; During a meeting of the International AIDS Society in Paris earlier this week, several news stories that emerged made clear it will take more than money and free drugs to win the global AIDS fight. Case in point: German pharmaceutical maker Boehringer Ingelheim claimed that only two African nations
Roche's HIV Drug Shows Promise: Results of New Treatment Stand Up for Longer Term: Wall Street Journal - July 16, 2003; Gautam Naik, Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal; LONDON -- Roche Holding AG, the big Swiss pharmaceutical concern, said its new HIV drug, Fuzeon, showed encouraging results when used over the longer term, and it could make the drug available for more patients than previously anticipated. Fuzeon caused a stir about a year ago when a 24-week study showed that patients
Tuberculosis's Spread Swamps WHO Efforts: Wall Street Journal - July 16, 2003; Gautam Naik, Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal; LONDON -- The world may be losing its battle to contain tuberculosis because of the rising scourge of HIV and the lax response in some nations. In a report released during a big AIDS conference Tuesday in Paris, the World Health Organization said that although a typical TB treatment costs as little as �8.86 ($9.89) a
COMMENTARY: Africa Needs Tough Love: Wall Street Journal - July 15, 2003; George B.N. Ayittey*; Just before President Bush left for Africa, the U.N. warned that at current rates it would take black Africa 150 years to reach the minimum development targets. Growth rates are negative on a continent littered with collapsed states. Africa needs help but that help is not measured quantitatively by the size of aid pack
AIDS Fuels Famine in Africa As Swaziland Farmers Die, Their Land Goes Unplanted: Wall Street Journal - July 9, 2003; Roger Thurow, Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal; MAPHATSINDVUKU, Swaziland -- Their father died in 1999, their mother in 2000, both of them from what social workers and village officials believe were complications from AIDS. Since then, Makhosazane Nkhambule, now 16 years old, has been caring for her four younger brothers and sisters in their one-room mud-brick shac
Drug Patents Draw Scrutiny As Bush Makes African Visit: Wall Street Journal - July 9, 2003; Michael Schroeder, Staff Reporter; WASHINGTON -- In a five-nation African tour this week, President Bush is trumpeting his $15 billion program to fight the continent s AIDS epidemic. But that program s gains could be undercut by a separate U.S. effort to impose strict drug-patent protections that make AIDS drugs more expensive and harder to obtain. The
Bush Begins Tour of Africa Amid Questions on Liberia: Wall Street Journal - July 8, 2003; Jeanne Cummings, Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal; GOREE ISLAND, Senegal -- President Bush committed the U.S. to assisting in a peaceful transition of power in Liberia , but refused to detail what role his administration will play and whether he will send troops to the war-torn nation. In an exchange with reporters, Mr. Bush said he assured
COMMENTARY: Into Africa: Wall Street Journal - July 7, 2003; Jeffrey Herbst*; President Bush s trip to sub-Saharan Africa this week will solidify one of his most surprising achievements. Even before the prospect of a military intervention in Liberia , Mr. Bush was well on his way to becoming the American president most engaged with the African continent in U.S. history. This despite the fact th
Gilead AIDS Drug Is Cleared By FDA, Kicking Off Rivalry: Wall Street Journal - July 3, 2003; David P. Hamilton, Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal; The Food and Drug Administration approved a new AIDS drug from Gilead Sciences Inc., kicking off what could be a heated market battle with another leading AIDS treatment. The new drug, called Emtriva , inhibits an enzyme key to the replication of HIV, the AIDS virus. While Gilead will sell Emtriva as a stand-alone drug
Researchers Push to Create Project for an AIDS Vaccine: Wall Street Journal - June 27, 2003; Marilyn Chase and David Bank, Staff Reporters of The Wall Street Journal; Two dozen AIDS researchers and public-health officials, citing the lack of a vaccine two decades into the pandemic, are calling for the creation of a global HIV vaccine enterprise, adding that it is unrealistic to expect private industry to shoulder the burden alone. The policy statement, published in Friday s edition
Top AIDS Researchers Propose Global Network for Finding Cure: Wall Street Journal - June 26, 2003; Marilyn Chase, Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal; Two dozen AIDS researchers and public-health officials, citing the lack of any preventive vaccine two decades into the AIDS pandemic, are calling for the creation of a global HIV vaccine enterprise, saying that it is unrealistic to expect private industry to shoulder the burden alone. The policy statement, published in
Bristol-Myers AIDS Drug Cleared: FDA Approves Bristol's Reyataz, Providing Some Good News Amid Accounting Problems: Wall Street Journal - June 23, 2003; Peter Landers, Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal; Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., after a disastrous year dominated by an accounting scandal, finally has a spurt of good news, including U.S. approval for a drug the company is pitching as a first-line treatment against the AIDS virus. The AIDS drug, known by the brand name Reyataz, was approved Friday by the Food and Drug
Appropriations Panel Clears Security Bill: Wall Street Journal - June 18, 2003; WASHINGTON -- The House Appropriations Committee approved a $30.4 billion homeland-security bill, exceeding President Bush s budget request by $1 billion and setting the stage for a larger battle among Republicans over spending priorities in the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1. In programs ranging from education to vetera
Chiron Sees PowderJect Purchase As Way Into U.S. Vaccine Market: Wall Street Journal - June 6, 2003; David P. Hamilton, Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal; Chiron Corp. s new chief executive said the company s planned $878 million acquisition of PowderJect Pharmaceuticals PLC will likely serve as its springboard into the large U.S. vaccine market. Howard Pien, named Chiron CEO in March, said that PowderJect is one of only two makers of flu vaccine approved to sell their p
Lilly Plans to Donate Rights To TB Drugs to Poor Nations: Wall Street Journal - June 5, 2003; Marilyn Chase, Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal; Eli Lilly & Co. is casting old drugs in new roles to fight tuberculosis, a perennial killer. And in the process, Lilly plans to teach some developing nations how to treat the toughest kind of TB -- and hand them the technology to make the medicines. Eli Lilly announced Thursday that it is joining with the World H
As U.S. Balks on Medicine Deal, African Patients Feel the Pain: Big Drug Firms, Protecting Their Patents, Seek Limits to a Global Trade Accord: Wall Street Journal - June 2, 2003; Roger Thurow And Scott Miller, Staff Reporters Of The Wall Street Journal; N DJAMENA, Chad -- At the central hospital in this decrepit capital, the lone cardiologist writes prescription after prescription for medicine to relieve hypertension. But he acknowledges that few of his patients will ever fill his orders. They often can t find the medicine in Chad, and if they do, they can t afford i
Enrollment in Nursing Rises, But Crisis in Field May Linger: Wall Street Journal - May 26, 2003; Kris Maher, Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal; The number of students entering nursing, a profession that has been facing a drastic shortage for nearly a decade, is finally on the rise. But the crisis is far from over, and recent events have only added uncertainty to the profession s recovery. The total U.S. student-nursing population rose 3.7% in 2001 and 8% in 20
WHO Urges Companies To Help Conquer SARS: Wall Street Journal - May 22, 2003; Vanessa Fuhrmans and Gautam Naik, Staff Reporters of The Wall Street Journal; After rousing the world s scientific community to help hunt and conquer the SARS virus, the World Health Organization is doing the same with big business, prodding companies to raise $100 million toward stamping out the disease. The fund, which the WHO plans to announce on Thursday in Geneva, is aimed primarily at buil
Better Late Than Never: Officials Set Global Strategy to Fight AIDS: Wall Street Journal - May 20, 2003; Michael Waldholz; The global response to SARS shows that the world can get it together to fight a potentially devastating outbreak. Now, better late than never, it s finally time to do the same for AIDS. This week, Congress is expected to send President Bush a historic bill unleashing $15 billion over five years to fight AIDS in 12 hard
AIDS Bill Reflects New Emphasis On U.S. Help to Fight the Disease: Wall Street Journal - May 19, 2003; David Rogers, Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal; WASHINGTON -- Congress will send President Bush this week a $15 billion global AIDS bill that reflects a new emphasis on direct U.S. assistance to fight the disease and a greater concentration of power to manage the overseas efforts. The five-year funding represents a historic commitment by the U.S., and Mr. Bush hopes
Roche, Ranbaxy Cooperate On Work for Malaria Drug: Wall Street Journal - May 19, 2003; Vanessa Fuhrmans, Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal; In a venture that could provide a model for attacking diseases in the developing world, a health group has convinced two corporate rivals to lay aside their differences and cooperate in bringing a potential malaria drug to market. The drug, a synthetic copy of an extract from the Chinese sweet wormwood plant, could fig
Funding for AIDS Programs Needs to Increase, Study Says: Waal Street Journal - May 14, 2003; David Bank, Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal; More than 80% of the world s population still lacks access to basic AIDS-prevention programs, according to a study that estimates nearly $4 billion each year is needed to slow the AIDS epidemic. The study, sponsored by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, highlights preventio
Bush AIDS Project Promises To Pay Off on Many Fronts: Wall Street Journal - May 14, 2003; John Harwood; WASHINGTON -- Over the next 10 days, President Bush is planning to exploit war for political gain. If only it could happen more often. Mr. Bush will capitalize on the war against AIDS -- the one the world is losing. He has demanded passage of a five-year, $15 billion U.S. commitment to the global pandemic by Memorial D
South Africa May Finally Bend To Antiretroviral Medicines: Pretoria Study Says AIDS Program Is Affordable and Can Be Distributed: Wall Street Journal - May 13, 2003; Mark Schoofs, Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal; JOHANNESBURG, South Africa -- The long and bitter fight over the treatment of AIDS in South Africa, in which President Thabo Mbeki has questioned whether anti-AIDS drugs are too toxic and even whether HIV causes the syndrome, may be nearing a climax. The government has often argued that, toxicity aside, the antiretrovi
Genetic Map Provides Clues In the Fight Against SARS: Wall Street Journal - May 13, 2003; Mark Schoofs, Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal; On April 13, AIDS researcher David Ho and associate Linqi Zhang found what they believe may be an Achilles heel of the SARS virus. Dr. Zhang brought the just-completed genome of the SARS virus to Dr. Ho and pointed out a hauntingly familiar DNA sequence. It was similar to one they had seen on the AIDS virus, where it c
Hong Kong Doctors to Adjust SARS Treatment Amid Concerns: Wall Street Journal - May 12, 2003; Karen Richardson, Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal; Amid concerns that Hong Kong s drug-treatment protocol for SARS might be adding to the high level of deaths from the respiratory disease there, a panel of doctors treating SARS patients said they will reduce their use of the antiviral drug ribavirin and delay the use of corticosteroids because of adverse side effects.
Senate Leader to Bring House Bill On AIDS to Floor to Speed Process: The Wall Street Journal - May 9, 2003; David Rogers, Staff Reporter; WASHINGTON -- Pressed by conservatives and the calendar, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist will bring a House-passed $15 billion global AIDS bill to the floor next week in hopes of sending legislation to President Bush before the Memorial Day recess. This will be the cleanest and most efficient way to go, predicted the
World-Wide Fund to Fight Diseases Is Running Short Looming Deficit May Press Japan, Europe To Match the Pace of American Donations: Wall Street Journal - May 7, 2003; Michael M. Phillips, Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal; WASHINGTON -- The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria is in danger of running out of money, a new U.S. government report warns. The impending shortfall is likely to put pressure on Europe and Japan to keep pace with growing American contributions to the fund. But AIDS activists also see it as an implici
House Version of Bush's AIDS Plan May Not Strike the Disease's Cause: The Wall Street Journal - May 7, 2003; Mark Ingebretsen; U.S. House members last week undoubtedly congratulated themselves for passing -- by a lopsided vote of 375 to 41 -- President Bush s $15 billion program to fight AIDS in Africa and elsewhere. One reason for the huge victory was an amendment added by House conservatives aimed at bringing their caucus aboard. In effect,
House Passes Overseas Funding Of $15 Billion to Combat AIDS: The Wall Street Journal - May 2, 2003; David Rogers, Staff Reporter; WASHINGTON -- The House approved legislation pledging $15 billion over the next five years to fight AIDS overseas, a historic commitment that would be directed at programs for Africa and the Caribbean. The 375-41 vote represents a victory for President Bush, who wants quick Senate action this month and hopes to leverag
AIDS Researcher Ho, Others Set to Begin to Tackle SARS: Wall Street Journal - April 24, 2003; Antonio Regalado And Mark Schoofs, Staff Reporters Of The Wall Street Journal; SARS is the biggest news in the world of virology since AIDS, and some of the world s leading scientists are jumping into the pursuit of a weapon to fight it. AIDS researcher David Ho, who runs the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center in New York and was a key driver of AIDS-treatment approaches now in use, said he has a
WHO's Methodology May Understate SARS Death Rate, Some Officials Say: Wall Street Journal - April 22, 2003; Karen Richardson and Betsy McKay, Staff Reporters of The Wall Street Journal; Is the real death rate for SARS higher than the public has been led to believe? The World Health Organization maintains that the mortality rate for severe acute respiratory syndrome is currently about 5.6%. That figure, often cited by public health officials and the media, represents the number of known SARS-related de
COMMENTARY: From Ducks to Pigs to Humans? - The SARS Epidemic: Wall Street Journal - April 22, 2003; Stephen Morse*; Severe acute respiratory syndrome is the newest of the newly emerging infectious diseases to break into the headlines -- and into our consciousness. Starting from Asia, SARS has been extending its reach all over the world as travelers have brought the virus with them, seeding new outbreaks as far away as Toronto. It is
UPN's Comedy 'Girlfriends' Takes Up Fight Against AIDS: Viacom Project Aims to Battle Disease by Writing About It: Wall Street Journal - April 14, 2003; Danielle Reed, Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal; The May 12 episode of Girlfriends, UPN s urban-relationship comedy, has to stretch to be funny. In it, characters deal with implications of AIDS, including one college friend who has the illness. That was our hardest story ever to do, says the show s producer, Mara Brock Akil. How do you talk about AIDS and then be fun
U.S. Diverts Relief Funds To Prepare for Iraq Needs: White House to Use Supplemental Budget To Repay Foreign Aid Programs for Funds: Wall Street Journal - April 11, 2003; Roger Thurow and David Bank, Staff Reporters of The Wall Street Journal; The U.S. has diverted more than a half billion dollars from relief efforts for famines, epidemics and civil wars around the world to prepare for the aftermath of the war in Iraq , delaying aid to displaced Sudanese and homeless Afghans, among others. The White House is planning to repay most of the money diverted f
Can Some Individuals Transmit SARS More Widely Than Others?: Wall Street Journal - April 10, 2003; Trish Saywell, Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal; Top disease specialists are debating the theory of whether some people with SARS might be superinfectors or superspreaders -- that is, unusually contagious and able to transmit the illness to larger numbers of people. Robert Breiman, head of a World Health Organization team investigating severe acute respiratory syndro
Toronto Doctors Race To Get Handle on SARS: New Virus Caught City Off Guard In Days Before Global Health Alert: Wall Street Journal - April 8, 2003; Elena Cherney and Mark Heinzl, Staff Reporters of The Wall Street Journal; TORONTO -- Doctors weren t sure what to make of 43-year-old Tse Chi Kai when he came to Toronto s Scarborough Grace hospital on March 7 complaining of fever and shortness of breath. They initially suspected pneumonia, and kept him under observation overnight in the emergency room. Mr. Tse s breathing worsened the next
Scientists Test Existing Drugs For Weapons Against SARS: Wall Street Journal - April 3, 2003; Marilyn Chase, Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal; Eager to join the battle against the SARS virus, laboratory scientists studying smallpox, AIDS, and the West Nile virus are helping to search for drugs that treat severe acute respiratory syndrome. While creation of any specific treatment may be years off, scientists are hoping to find some therapies that can help SARS
China Reveals New SARS Cases As WHO Issues Travel Advisory: Wall Street Journal - April 2, 2003; Peter Wonacott, Susan V. Lawrence and David Murphy, Staff Reporters of The Wall Street Journal; China revealed that a lethal strain of pneumonia has caused an additional 12 deaths and hundreds of new cases, and said it would allow a team of foreign specialists to visit the area where the outbreaks first occurred. Wednesday s developments suggest that China s leadership -- facing its first major challenge since
Vancouver Drug Facilities Draw Ire of U.S. Officials: Wall Street Journal - April 1, 2003; Joel Baglole, Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal; Angering U.S. officials fighting the war on drugs, the Canadian city of Vancouver, British Columbia, is opening North America s first safe-injection sites for heroin users. Backers insist it s better to treat drug addiction as a public-health issue rather than a criminal matter. Emulating European countries such as
Enforcing SARS Quarantines Sets Problems for Authorities: Wall Street Journal - April 1, 2003; Matt Pottinger and Richard Borsuk, Staff Reporters of The Wall Street Journal; Governments are finding out just how hard it is to implement mass quarantines in an era of fast information, global travel and widespread concern over civil liberties. Now Canada , Singapore and Hong Kong all have imposed quarantines to combat the spr
Merck and Aventis Combine AIDS Drugs: Wall Street Journal - March 27, 2003; Gardiner Harrism, Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal; Merck & Co. and Aventis SA are combining their two most promising AIDS vaccines candidates in a joint human test in the U.S. that will begin later this year. For reasons neither company understands, monkeys that were injected first with the Merck vaccine and then later with the Aventis medicine got their immune s
Labs' Joint Efforts Brought Breakthrough on SARS Cause: Wall Street Journal - March 26, 2003; Marilyn Chase, Matt Pottinger, Betsy McKay and Vanessa Fuhrmans, Staff Reporters of The Wall Street Journal; Just before midnight on March 18, as scores of infected patients fought for their lives on an upper floor, virologists at Hong Kong s Prince of Wales Hospital announced a break in the hunt for the cause of a killer pneumonia. The team, led by microbiology professor John Tam of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, said
South Africa's TAC Plans Mass Civil Disobedience: Wall Street Journal - March 20, 2003; Mark Schoofs, Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal; A brash and savvy AIDS activist group is about to take a dramatic step to push the South African government to provide AIDS drugs in public hospitals and clinics: mass civil disobedience. The protest action, to begin this week and last for seven days, is believed to be the first time in Africa that AIDS patients will h
HIV's Ability to Rapidly Evolve Occurs Quicker Than Thought: Wall Street Journal - March 18, 2003; Antonio Regalado, Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal; The virus that causes AIDS evolves more rapidly than previously thought, according to a new finding that underscores challenges to developing an effective vaccine. The human immunodeficiency virus, or HIV, has long outwitted both scientists and the body s own defenses with its rapid ability to adapt. The protective env
COMMENTARY: End the Squabble: Wall Street Journal - March 14, 2003; Haiko Alfeld and Paul Hofheinz*; GENEVA, Switzerland -- Like a dysfunctional family, the world s richest and poorest countries are squabbling again. And the poorest, most helpless people are the unwitting victims of this unseemly dispute. Despite several attempts, the 145 countries that make up the World Trade Organization have been unable to agree on
FDA Approves New AIDS Drug Seen as Milestone in Treatment: Wall Street Journal - March 14, 2003; Vanessa Fuhrmans, Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal; The Food and Drug Administration cleared a highly anticipated AIDS drug for sale, giving patients who no longer respond to other treatments a powerful but costly new weapon in fighting the disease. Doctors and researchers consider Fuzeon, developed by Roche AG and Trimeris Inc., the biggest advance in AIDS treatment si
Drug May Offer Alternative To a Smallpox Vaccine: Wall Street Journal - March 12, 2003; Marilyn Chase, Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal; In a study suggesting a possible alternative for people who can t tolerate smallpox vaccine, researchers said a new antiviral drug taken before or after exposure to a lethal smallpox-like infection reduced death rates in mice. Not yet available for human use, the drug faces much more work, including animal studies, hum
Doctor Fights for Warnings On Viagra's Ads and Labels: Wall Street Journal - March 7, 2003; Marilyn Chase, Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal; SAN FRANCISCO -- During a health inspection of a gay sex club two years ago, Jeffrey Klausner felt something crunch underfoot. It was an empty blister pack of Viagra. Dr. Klausner, this city s director of sexually-transmitted-disease prevention, began to wonder whether Pfizer Inc. s impotence drug was contributing
States Join Together to Press For Discounts on AIDS Drugs: Wall Street Journal - February 28, 2003; Laurie McGinley, Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal; WASHINGTON -- Worried about the escalating costs of AIDS treatments, state health officials are joining forces to press for price concessions. The strategy will come to the fore the week of March 17, when the six states with the biggest AIDS-drug programs plan to meet here with drug makers. The state officials plan to
U.N. Says AIDS Will Reduce Population by 480 Million: Wall Street Journal - February 26, 2003; Gautam Naik, Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal; LONDON -- The United Nations reduced its estimate of the global population for the middle of this century by an additional 180 million because of the worsening effects of AIDS. That chilling revision reflects not a statistical error but a more serious and prolonged impact of the epidemic, according to new figures publi
Failed AIDS Vaccine Trial Offers Lessons to Science: Wall Street Journal - February 25, 2003; Michael Waldholz; Although the first AIDS vaccine to undergo rigorous human study appears to be a bust, the experiment still can contribute to AIDS vaccine research, where advances come in small steps. This week s news1 was that biotech outfit Vaxgen Inc. s three-year trial to vaccinate people against AIDS overall didn t work. Shocked i
Critics Lay Into VaxGen Claim That AIDS Vaccine Has Hope: Wall Street Journal - February 25, 2003; David P. Hamilton, Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal; Independent scientists contested a suggestion by VaxGen Inc. that its experimental AIDS vaccine protected some people against HIV infection, arguing that the available data are too weak to support such claims. VaxGen conceded that the first major trial of its AIDS vaccine, known as Aidsvax, overall failed to protect vo
Roche AIDS Drug's Steep Price May Put It Out of Patients' Reach: Wall Street Journal - February 24, 2003; Vanessa Fuhrmans, Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal; A new AIDS drug that promises to help patients who have failed to respond to other medications carries a price tag more than double the most expensive treatments on the market, setting up a wrenching debate over who will get it and who will pay for it. Roche Holding AG Monday said it is pricing the drug, called Fuzeon,
New AIDS Study Shows Efficacy of Cheaper Drug: Wall Street Journal - February 14, 2003; Vanessa Fuhrmans, Staff Reporter; In a finding that could bring some relief to cash-strapped AIDS-drug assistance programs, a study shows a cheaper antiretroviral drug works as well as its better-selling rival. The 1,216-patient study, the first to compare the two drugs directly, found that Viramune , an AIDS medicine that its maker
Affordable AIDS Treatment Test Would Be Key for Poor Nations: Wall Street Journal - February 13, 2003; Rachel Zimmerman, Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal; A rapid, new portable test to measure critical immune cells in people with the AIDS virus could soon be available for less than $1 in poor countries, making it easier to identify patients most in need of newly available inexpensive AIDS medicines. Using a microchip that contains miniaturized wells, the postage stamp-si
Roche to Sell Drug for AIDS At Cost in Poorer Countries: Wall Street Journal - February 13, 2003; Vanessa Fuhrmans and Rachel Zimmerman, Staff Reporters of The Wall Street Journal; Roche Holding AG said that it would sell a critical AIDS medicine in developing countries at cost, bowing to criticism that it hadn t done enough to make the drug affordable. The new policy, effective in March, will knock the price of Viracept , an antiretroviral therapy, to about a quarter of its current official pric
AIDS-Virus Cases Rise in States, Suggesting Growing Complacency: Wall Street Journal - February 12, 2003; Rachel Zimmerman, Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal; Reversing years of sharp declines, diagnoses of the AIDS virus have risen in 25 states, suggesting to public officials that sexually active Americans may be growing complacent about contracting the deadly virus. Researchers also reported that new venues for finding sex partners -- namely the Internet -- may be contribu
Should You Bank Your Blood? Tainted Supply Spurs Deposits: Wall Street Journal - February 12, 2003; Ann Carrns and Betsy McKay, Staff Reporters of The Wall Street Journal; Last week, Kathleen Paluczak, a 58-year-old office administrator in St. Louis, deposited a unit of her blood in a local blood bank. This week, she plans to make a withdrawal -- for her own knee-replacement surgery scheduled for Thursday. The number of people banking blood for their own use has increased in the South si
OPINION: The AIDS Initiative: Wall Street Journal - February 7, 2003; When President Bush proposed a $15 billion initiative to tackle AIDS in Africa and the Caribbean last week, lots of folks professed surprise. We re not sure why. When it comes to foreign aid, the President has shown consistently that compassionate conservatism is no mere slogan. Mr. Bush has pushed the World Bank to of
Bush 's Tradeoffs: Budget for Harder Times Offers New Plans but Lots of Cutbacks: The Wall Street Journal - February 4, 2003; John D. McKinnon and Greg Hitt; WASHINGTON -- President Bush s budget plan for next year marks the end of a brief era when shrinking defense needs and a strong economy made it possible to please nearly every constituency. The new budget is a return, instead, to the old days of tradeoffs and tough choices. While Mr. Bush has been touting an array of n
Bush Proposes Increase In Spending on AIDS Fight: Wall Street Journal - February 3, 2003; Greg Hitt, Staff Reporter Of The Wall Street Journal; WASHINGTON -- Saying he wants to act, not just talk, President Bush plunged more deeply into the fight against AIDS, proposing an increase in domestic spending and announcing that his administration had cleared the way for more widespread use of a new, quicker diagnostic test. In the fiscal 2004 budget being released M
In Plague Time Even Prostitutes Have Degrees: Wall Street Journal - January 31, 2003; Daniel Henninger*; President Bush s announced intention this week to spend $15 billion fighting HIV/AIDS in Africa got me thinking about the plan he began last year for African-Americans: No Child Left Behind. No Child Left Behind is the name of his strategy to raise performance in the nation s inner-city schools. Of the AIDS effort, one
Health Activists Are Skeptical About Bush's AIDS Proposal: Wall Street Journal - January 30, 2003; Michael M. Phillips And Rachel Zimmerman, Staff Reporters of The Wall Street Journal; WASHINGTON -- A day after proposing a huge spending increase to fight AIDS in Africa and the Caribbean, President Bush faced skepticism from health activists and the specter of being trumped by the Senate Republican leader and a Democratic presidential aspirant. The president opened himself up to a fight over support f
Pharmacia Nears Deal to Sell Cheaper Version of AIDS Drug: Wall Street Journal - January 24, 2003; Scott Hensley, Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal; Attempting to break a stalemate over getting AIDS drugs into developing nations, Pharmacia Corp. is near a deal to allow generic drug makers to sell cheaper versions of its drug Rescriptor in poor countries only. Pharmacia, one of the world s largest drug companies, would license Rescriptor to the nonprofit Internation
World Economic Forum's Three Decades of History: Wall Street Journal - January 20, 2003; The World Economic Forum grew out of an initiative to bring together Europe s chief executives for an informal gathering in the Swiss mountain town of Davos in 1970. These chief executives formally met in January 1971, at the instigation of Klaus Schwab, to discuss a coherent strategy for European business to face chal
What the Doctor Ordered?: Wall Street Journal - January 14, 2003; Harvey Bale*; Former Swedish Prime Minister Carl Bildt is spot on in his analysis of the failure so far of trade negotiators in the WTO talks to recognize the irrelevance of patents to resolving the problem of access to medicines in the Third World, especially Africa ( Fight Poverty, Not Patents, Jan. 6). Unfortunately, not enough p
COMMENTARY: Fight Poverty, Not Patents: Wall Street Journal - January 7, 2003; Carl Bildt; Time is running short for the World Trade Organization to fulfill the pledge made last November at Doha to find a way to guarantee poor countries access to medicines through the effective use of compulsory licensing of patents. Talks on this urgent issue stalled in December, and that is bad for everyone, but the burden

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