Fridae

"If they do not approach the Food and Drug Administration this week, the Ministry of Public Health will have to take action." The "they" are the Salang Bunnag Foundation, makers of an unproven but widely hyped cure for AIDS. The speaker is Deputy Public Health Minister Suraphong Suebwonglee. As for nature of the "action" - that has yet to be seen.

The makers of V-1 Immunitor were supposed to present documents to register their product at the beginning of this week, but never made it to the FDA, said the Bangkok Post. This was after a previous license had been revoked by the government. Either the licence was granted by an office that didn't have the authority to grant it, or, the licence was for a different product (simply called V-1, produced by the same group). Stories differ. The revocation led the makers to claim that they were being "bullied by health authorities," said the Post.

Meanwhile, away from the continuing hoopla, a government committee is looking into the histories of patients who have used the formula. Progress on this front, though, appears to be moving slowly; only a few patients appear to have been tested, and records at the Salang Bunnag Foundation appear to have been poorly kept.