Shaman's Provir Cuts AIDS Diarrhea

Shaman Pharmaceuticals, a specialist in the development of novel drugsfound in tropical plants, has reported that its lead product Provir appears to be an effective treatment for AIDS-related diarrhea. The data comes from a pilot Phase II study which compared Provir to placebo over five days in a hospital setting.

The trial included 51 evaluable patients, and found that those treated with Provir experienced a significant reduction in stool weight (p=0.018) and abnormal stool frequency (p=0.047) compared to the placebo group. The study did not achieve statistical significance for Provir on a subjective scale measuring gastrointestinal symptom relief, but did significantly increase the time between abnormal stools (p=0.035).

The company said it would now be working with the US Food and Drug Administration on the design of trials investigating the effects of a longer period of treatment with Provir.