Newport Pharmaceuticals International Inc. said it will...

Newport Pharmaceuticals International Inc. said it will begin another round of clinical trials of its drug Isoprinosine as a possible treatment for AIDS-related conditions.

The Newport Beach-based company said the tests, which will be conducted in the United States, Australia and Europe, will involve 2,000 people.

About half of the patients will actually have an AIDS-related condition, which precedes the full onset of the disease, while the rest will be people who have tested positive for the AIDS antibody but have not yet shown symptoms of the deadly disease, a company spokeswoman said.

Newport also said it has submitted a proposal to the National Institutes of Health for a study of the use of Isoprinosine in combination with an anti-viral drug in treating patients with ARC. The company has not yet received a response from the agency, the spokeswoman said.