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HomeWeekly RoundupGilead gives $22m to finding an HIV cure

Gilead gives $22m to finding an HIV cure

Pharmaceutical giant Gilead Sciences has awarded a total of over $22m in grants to 12 projects focused on finding a cure for HIV, according to a Poz report.

The projects focus on three areas: community perspectives of cure research, efficacy studies in animal models, and translational research (which means applying, or “translating,” scientific knowledge into real-world uses). The projects are conducted by community-based groups, academic institutes and non-profits.

“We know from decades of work addressing the issue of HIV/Aids that there is no one-size-fits-all solution. Through partnerships with dedicated and results-driven organizations – such as the worthy recipients of our grant funding – our goal is to help in the discovery and development of a safe and effective cure,” Dr William Lee, Gilead’s executive vice president of research, is quoted in the report as saying. “We are excited about the potential of these projects and are looking forward to seeing the results and learnings that emerge from them.”

The report says Gilead manufactures a number of HIV meds including Atripla, Descovy, Genvoya, Odefsey, Stribild, Truvada and Viread.

Gilead has awarded the grants to the following institutes. The list also includes the principal investigators and the formal name of the research projects:

Massachusetts General Hospital – Galit Alter, PhD – Development of a Novel Class of Broadly Functional Antibodies (bFAbs) That Can Kill the Viral Reservoir Within Lymphoid Sanctuaries
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Centre – Lawrence Corey, MD – Adoptive Transfer of Genetically Protected and Genetically Modified Defined Populations of CAR T Cells as a Modality to Achieve HIV-1 Cure
Foundation for the National Institutes of Health, National Cancer Institute, Centre for Cancer Research – George N Pavlakis, MD, PhD – Efficacy of Heterodimeric IL-15 Treatment Regimens in Reducing SIV Reservoir
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine – Robert Siliciano, MD, PhD – Measuring the Latent Reservoir for HIV
University of Zurich, Institute of Medical Virology – Alexandra Trkola, PhD – SEEK, UNCOVER and ELIMINATE: Eliciting Antiviral and Infected Cell-Directed Activities Towards a Cure of HIV-1
Institut Pasteur – Olivier Schwartz, PhD – Novel Methods to Visualise and Eliminate the HIV-1 Reservoir
Aarhus University Hospital – Ole Schmeltz Sogaard, MD, PhD – Combining a TLR9 Agonist With Broadly Neutralising Antibodies for Viral Reservoir Reduction and Immunological Control of HIV Infection: A Randomised, Placebo-Controlled Trial
University of KwaZulu-Natal – Thumbi Ndung’u, PhD – The FRESH Study: Females Rising Through Education, Support and Health (FRESH) Acute HIV Infection Cohort
Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine – Michael M. Lederman, MD – Reservoir Reduction With Interleukin-2 and Transcriptional Activation
AIDS Foundation of Chicago – Amy Johnson, PhD – Chicago Unites in Research to End HIV (CURE HIV)
Project Inform – David Evans – Assuring Successful Community Participation in HIV Cure Research
My Brother’s Keeper, Inc – DeMarc Hickson, PhD – HIV Cure Research Perception Among HIV-Infected African American MSM, and Affected Communities in the Deep American South: A Multi-Level Mixed Methods Perspective

[link url="https://www.poz.com/article/22m-grants-gilead-study-three-areas-hiv-cure-research"]Poz report[/link]
[link url="https://www.gilead.com/news/press-releases/2017/1/gilead-awards-more-than-22-million-in-grants-to-support-hiv-cure-research"]Gilead material[/link]

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