Subject: Study Shows Drug Sparks Appetite in AIDS Patients
Date: Published: 6/18/91 (33 lines)
Source: Wall Street Journal. Copyright Dow Jones & Co. Inc.

    Technology Brief -- Unimed Inc.:
    Study Shows Drug Sparks
    Appetite in AIDS Patients

    Unimed Inc., along with Roxane Laboratories Inc., said a
 new study shows Marinol, a synthetic drug based on the major
 active component of marijuana, helps stimulate appetite and
 prevent weight loss in AIDS patients.
    Unimed, a Somerville, N. J., developer and marketer of
 drugs for cancer patients, and Roxane Laboratories, a
 Columbus, Ohio, drug maker specializing in cancer pain
 products, presented the preliminary findings at a meeting in
 Palm Beach, Fla.  The drug Marinol, also known by its generic
 name dronabinol, is being developed and promoted by the two
 companies.
    Marinol is a synthetic delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, the
 major active component in marijuana.  In the 31 patients
 infected with the human immunodeficiency virus, or HIV, who
 participated in the study, 61% gained weight as a result of
 taking the drug, the companies said.  Prior to taking the
 drug, all the patients were losing weight.
    As a result of this study, a Phase III, placebo-controlled
 trial of dronabinal is now being conducted on patients with
 acquired immune deficiency syndrome in several U. S. cities.
 The clinical trials will be funded by the two companies.

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