Chiron's IL-2 Shows Promise In HIV

Chiron Corporation of the USA, in conjunction with the National Institutes of Health, has released data from a clinical trial with the immune system protein interleukin-2 in the treatment of patients with HIV infection. The study is published in the New England Journal of Medicine (October 31).

In the one-year study, conducted by Joseph Kovacs and Clifford Lane of the NIH Clinical Center and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, respectively, 60 HIV-infected patients were randomly assigned to receive an infusion of IL-2 with standard antiretroviral therapy, or antiretroviral therapy alone. The patients all had CD4 cell counts of 200/mm3 or greater.

IL-2 was administered initially at a dose of 18 million International units a day on a five-day cycle every two months. This dose was then reduced individually as required. In the later stages of the study, the mean dose had dropped to 8 million IU per day.