Protease Inhibitors Arrive

1996 - Protease Inhibitors Arrive

Treatment options take another step forward with the introduction of power HIV-fighting drugs called Protease Inhibitors. The use of these drugs in combination with existing HIV/AIDS drugs proves effective in controlling HIV. These new "triple-therapies" give patients and scientists new hope in eliminating HIV/AIDS. But that hope is dashed when a year later, scientists find HIV/AIDS "hides" in reservoirs in the body, making total elimination of the virus virtually impossible.

1997

In late 1996 data from AIDS Clinical Trials Group study 076 (ACTG 076) made it clear that Retrovir (AZT) used during pregnancy and at the time of delivery drastically reduces transmission of HIV from mother to child. Those findings led to protocols that now drastically reduce transmission from mother to child from 1 in 4 to less than 3%.

1998

More than 15 years after the prediction there would be of an AIDS vaccine within 2 years, the first human trials in the United States of an HIV/AIDS vaccine begins. In a desperate attempt to get affordable HIV/AIDS drugs to the hardest hit areas of Africa, European drug companies ignore US patent laws and begin making generic versions of HIV/AIDS medications. In response, US drug companies file lawsuits to stop such practices. And sadly, 17 years after HIV/AIDS entered our culture, an African AIDS activist is beaten to death by neighbors after publicly admitting she was HIV infected.

2000

The AIDS "rethinker" movement gets international attention and support when South African president Thabo Mbeki questions the use and effectiveness of HIV medications as well as offering doubt that HIV causes AIDS. In response, the international scientific community issues the Durban Declaration, offering proof that HIV and AIDS are indeed connected.

The HIV - AIDS Connection

2001

As scientists grow concerned over medication toxicity and effectiveness, US pharmaceutical companies drop their patent lawsuits, paving the way for European drug companies to manufacture and distribute cheaper HIV medications to the hardest hit areas of Sub-Saharan Africa. Cautious optimism emerges with the release of the first entry inhibitor, Fuzeon. Since 1981, 21 million people worldwide have died of AIDS, including 17 million from Sub-Saharan Africa.

• 31 million people are now living with HIV worldwide, the majority of whom are from African nations

2004

As the emphasis on simpler therapies continues, regimen pill burdens are greatly improved with the release of two new combination drugs, Truvada and Epzicom as well as two new protease inhibitors, Reyataz and Lexiva. In December, the first generic formulation of an HIV medication is approved by the FDA, instilling hope that HIV medication prices may soon come down.

2005

HIV statistics have become sobering to say the least.

• 4.9 million people were newly infected in 2005
• 40.3 million people worldwide living with HIV/AIDS.

And as the numbers continue to climb, work on an HIV vaccine has for the most part failed. Once thought to be "just around the corner" it has become obvious in 2005 that an HIV vaccine is still years away. Medication advances continue but long term side effects of HIV medication use are becoming more evident. So much so that experts now agree that for many patients, waiting to start HIV medications is the best course of action. Finally, 2005 saw a rise in HIV rates on college campuses and risky behavior among those people already infected is still a problem. Positive prevention messages are becoming a priority as syphilis and other STD rates of infection continue to rise sharply.

2006

Experts conclude that HIV has it origins in the jungles of Africa among wild chimps. Experts go on to report that evidence suggests that the simian form of HIV (SIV) entered the human species and became HIV by way of monkey bites or ingesting monkey meat and brains. While the origins of HIV are more clear, the means to pay for HIV care and medications has become more complicated. A revamping of the Medicare / Medicaid systems has made getting medications difficult for many. India surpasses South Africa as the world's largest HIV population and in the US infection rates of HIV are steady while STDs are on the rise.

2007

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reports that since the US HIV epidemic began, over 565,000 people have died of AIDS.

2009

Scientists at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill announce they have decoded the structure of an entire HIV genome. How this will affect the future of HIV treatment, prevention, and education is not entirely known. What we do know is that the more we know about HIV, the better we can fight its affects on public health in the US and around the world.