Administrator Named for Ribavirin Testing

Luc Montagnier, the French researcher who first identified the AIDS virus, will coordinate the human clinical testing in Europe of a potential AIDS-fighting drug, ribavirin, the drug’s manufacturer, ICN of Costa Mesa, announced Monday.

The tests handled by Montagnier, the director of virology at the Pasteur Institute in Paris, will complement the ongoing human clinical testing of ribavirin on 350 so-called “pre-AIDS” patients at eight medical centers in the United States. Pre-AIDS patients are those who have been identified as carrying the AIDS virus, although they may not have yet contracted any of the AIDS-related diseases that usually prove fatal.

According to ICN officials, Montagnier already is administering ribavirin to AIDS victims and has noted “significant improvement of clinical symptoms.”