already effected many white
blood cells. The clinical trial concluded that AZT
increased the CD4 counts in AIDS patients which means that the AZT was slowing
down the virus; therefore, prolonging the patient’s life. History
In 1964, Jerome Horwitz created Zidovudine, or AZT. It was first synthesized to be a treatment for various cancers. However, it was never approved by the FDA because of the strong side effects and it’s overall ineffectiveness.
In February 1985, Gertrude Ellion, Samuel Broder, Hiroaki Mitsuya, Robert Yarchoan, and Janet
Rideout began working on AZT as a treatment for AIDS and HIV. The group started
testing AZT’s effectiveness and eventually reached the clinical trial stage. To
test how many T-cells or white blood cells had been affected by HIV in the
patient, a sample of blood was taken and the CD4 proteins are counted. A low CD4
count means that the patient has a low amount of T-Cells and the virus has
already effected many white
blood cells. The clinical trial concluded that AZT
increased the CD4 counts in AIDS patients which means that the AZT was slowing
down the virus; therefore, prolonging the patient’s life.
Burroughs Wellcome Co., the company who provided the facilities, clinical trial, and more researchers to the project, received a patent on AZT in 1985. On March 20, 1987 the FDA approved Zidovudine as a drug to fight AIDS, HIV, and ARC (pre-Aids illness). In 1990 FDA approved as a preventative treatment as well.
For many years, doctors prescribed Zidovudine in very high dosages. These
dosages were 400mg every 4 hrs, even at night. There was a possibility of dying
of the drug toxicity but it was less probable then dying of HIV infection, so
patients carried on taking the large doses. Currently, dosages of AZT are around
300mg 2 or 3 times a day. This is partially due to the fact that there are more
drugs out now for AIDS, and most medicines are combined with other HIV medicines
to try to avoid having the body mutate and becoming immune to certain drugs.
In 2005, Burrough’s Wellcome’s (currently Glaxo Smith-Kline) patent on Zidovudine expired. This enabled many other companies to process and market generic AZT without paying royalties. Four generic forms of AZT are currently available in the US.
Jane Rideout