2014

Major provisions of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) go into effect barring insurers from discriminating against people with pre-existing conditions or imposing annual limits on coverage—key advances for people living with HIV.

amfAR announces the launch of the Countdown to a Cure for AIDS, a research initiative of up to $100 million aimed at developing the scientific basis for an HIV cure by the end of 2020.

amfAR also establishes a consortium of European researchers called IciStem to study and attempt to replicate the circumstances that led to the cure of Timothy Brown, the “Berlin patient.”

Researchers report on the first phase of the PARTNER Study, an observational study focusing on the risk of transmission when an HIV-positive person is on treatment. No study participants on antiretroviral therapy with an undetectable viral load transmit HIV to an HIV-negative partner.

The AIDS 2014 conference draws nearly 14,000 delegates from across the world. One key conference message: A one-size-fits-all approach may not be suitable for all settings, especially given the diversity of the epidemic’s geographic hotspots and key populations.

A new report by amfAR and AVAC finds that gaps in critical data imperil the response to the global HIV epidemic and outlines corrective steps for improved, transparent, and timely data collection.

The CDC announces that only 30% of Americans with HIV had the virus under control in 2011, and approximately two-thirds of those whose virus was not under control had been diagnosed but were no longer in care.

In November, amfAR convenes its first annual HIV Cure Summit at the New York Academy of Sciences. The Summit brings leading researchers together to report on their progress and to discuss the complex scientific challenges that stand in the way of an HIV cure.