AIDS patients don't want to get stuck.

• Author: Murray, Arthur O.
• Position: Tar Heel Tattler

When it hit the market in March, few doubted that Fuzeon would be a blockbuster for Durham-based Trimeris Inc. Fuzeon is the first AIDS treatment to stop healthy cells from being infected by the virus that causes the disease. For patients who had developed resistance to other treatments, Fuzeon promised to prolong life. But it is expensive and difficult to make. In fact, the company's biggest worry seemed to be making enough to meet expected initial demand (cover story, July).

Not anymore. Sales of Fuzeon are lagging behind projections, causing Trimeris stock to lose more than half its value since November 2002. The reason is simple, says Edward Nash, an analyst for Baltimore-based Legg Mason Wood Walker. Doctors won't prescribe Fuzeon because patients don't want to give themselves the twice-a-day injections that deliver the drug.

Even Trimeris admits problems. Nearly everyone who takes the shots initially develops hard, red, itchy bumps that last about a week and can get infected. Fuzeon can't be taken orally because it would lose effectiveness as it goes through the digestive system.

Nash has revised his 2003 sales projections for Fuzeon to $30 million, down from $70 million in July. The company concedes that the...