Pfizer Inc. announces it is calling off development of two experimental drugs because of poor trial results.

Pfizer has been developing an HIV therapy and a treatment for asthma and lung disease in collaboration with Germany's Altana AG. According to an Associated Press report, Pfizer had to scrap its development program midway when experiments didn't show any favorable results for the patients

The World Heath Organization's (WHO) plan to get three million people in the poorest parts of the world onto anti-AIDS drugs by 2005, has reportedly fallen short.

According to a WHO report, only one million people are currently receiving life saving AIDS treatments, leaving the organization almost certain that they will not be able to meet their goal

An experimental AIDS vaccine developed at Hadassah University Medical Center in Jerusalem, is giving hope to scientists as it shows signs of protecting patients' weakened immune system from infections.

The vaccine was developed by Dr. Rivka Aboulafia-Lapid and colleagues at Hadassah, along with scientists at Kaplan Medical Center and the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, and is currently undergoing clinical trials

CBC News reports the surfacing of a potentially fatal sexually transmitted disease that rarely appears in industrialized countries in Canada.

According to the report, there are currently 22 cases of lymphogranuloma venereum reported to the country's public health agency. An analysis in the May 31 online edition of the Canadian Medical Association Journal first announced the potential outbreak

UN Secretary General Kofi Annan stated at a senior level AIDS summit at UN Headquarters that AIDS is still posing a grave threat to the world.

According to UN study figures, 3.1 million AIDS related deaths and 4.9 million new AIDS infections were reported last year alone. This represents the single largest one-year increase to date. Less than 12 percent of those who need AIDS treatments are receiving them