Charlie Rose Science Series Features Discussion on HIV/AIDS

Charlie Rose Science Series Features Discussion on HIV/AIDS

- Episode Seven of Science Series Examines Scope and Burden of HIV/AIDS Epidemic, a Possible Vaccine, and New Treatments

NEW YORK, JULY 23 /PRNewswire/ -- The latest installment of the "Charlie Rose Science Series" on PBS will focus on the scope and burden of the HIV/AIDS epidemic and continuing global efforts to treat and prevent the disease. Charlie Rose will be joined by co-host Sir Paul Nurse, Nobel Laureate and President of Rockefeller University, and a panel of leading experts and scientists for an informative and in-depth discussion about HIV/AIDS-the scientific research and medical breakthroughs in treatments, as well as the possibility of a vaccine.

Sponsored by Pfizer Inc, the seventh show of the Charlie Rose Science Series begins airing on Tuesday, July 24, on more than 200 PBS stations across the country.

HIV/AIDS has claimed the lives of more than 25 million people. The virulence of HIV has earned it the dark distinction of being the worst epidemic in human history, but ongoing studies on its treatment and prevention offer hope to the millions infected with the virus.

"AIDS remains a pressing global concern, and scientists and public health officials continue to work on ways to control the growing epidemic," said Charlie Rose. "Some of the most promising developments in this search over the past year include a new class of drugs and a possible vaccine for HIV."

Charlie's special guests will include: Seth Berkley, MD, President and Founder of the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative; Scott Hammer, MD, Chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center; Peter Kwong, PhD, Chief of Structural Biology Section, Vaccine Research Institute at the National Institutes of Health; Judy Lieberman, MD, PhD, Director, Division of AIDS at Harvard Medical School and Senior Investigator at the CBR Institute for Biomedical Research.

While there have been promising developments in addressing the AIDS epidemic, the number of people living with HIV and the number of deaths due to AIDS continue to grow each year. In 2006, UNAIDS and the World Health Organization (WHO) reported a total of 39.5 million people were living with HIV - 2.6 million more than in 2004. The number includes the estimated 4.3 million adults and children who were newly infected with HIV, which is about 400,000 more than in 2004.

In 1995, the first protease inhibitors to treat HIV were introduced. Today, there are 20 approved drugs to treat HIV and AIDS, but there are only four different mechanisms by which the drugs work. In many patients, the virus develops resistance to one or more drugs, or to a class of drugs, creating an urgent and continuous need for new therapies.

In the ensuing years after the first AIDS drugs were approved, a promising new class of drugs has emerged called CCR5 inhibitors. These drugs work by blocking the entrance of the virus into cells. Because CCR5 drugs use a different strategy than previous classes, scientists are hopeful that they will be effective in patients whose HIV has become resistant to the medicines currently available.

"There is an overwhelming global need for new medicines to help HIV/AIDS patients," said Dr. Howard Mayer, Development Team Leader for HIV at Pfizer. "As one of many health organizations working globally to improve the lives of people living with HIV/AIDS, Pfizer is hard at work developing innovative new therapies that we hope will change the landscape of HIV/AIDS treatment for the first time in more than a decade."

According to the National Institutes of Health, approximately 40 million people worldwide are infected with HIV, and the prevalence levels for this virus will continue to rise globally. Historically, vaccines have proven to be the most effective weapon in the fight against infectious diseases such as small pox, polio, measles, and yellow fever. HIV vaccines are the best hope to end the HIV pandemic and therefore, scientists have long been dedicated to searching for a vaccine that will finally prevent HIV.

"The global resources that have been marshaled to find treatments, cures, and a vaccine for this horrific disease have been very impressive, but solving the scientific riddle has proved to be exceptionally difficult," said Sir Paul Nurse, President of Rockefeller University. "With many excellent scientists studying HIV/AIDS, I'm hopeful that the next several years will yield major advances in efforts to help better manage the global AIDS pandemic."

Pfizer's support for The Charlie Rose Science Series and its exploration of the advances being made in scientific research, their contribution to our understanding of the world around us, and how these breakthroughs may be applied to improving human health is part of Pfizer's commitment to expanding scientific understanding.

Past episodes of the Charlie Rose Science Series have explored research that has led to a better understanding of the human brain; the discovery and mapping of human DNA; new insights into longevity and the body's aging mechanisms; an in-depth look at cancer, the latest advances in stem cell research, and the growing problem of obesity in the American population especially among children and teenagers.

For more information about The Charlie Rose Science Series or to watch clips from past episodes, please visit www.charlierose.com.

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Source: The Charlie Rose Science Series

CONTACT: Maria Konnikova of Charlie Rose, +1-212-617-1600,
mkonnikova@bloomberg.net; or Rexy Legaspi of Widmeyer Communications,
+1-646-213-7245, rexy.legaspi@widmeyer.com

Web site: http://www.charlierose.com/

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