HIV Cure, Vaccine Development and Treatment
The Institute for HIV Research focuses in collaboration with its partners on three main objectives: (1) to improve the lives of HIV patients through new approaches and therapies, (2) to explore potential cure approaches and (3) to develop novel vaccine strategies.
Despite expanding tools for prevention and treatment, HIV remains the leading infectious killer(4). In 2014 there were 36.9 million living with HIV worldwide, of which a staggering majority of 25.8 million were living in Sub-Saharan African countries(4). More than half of the people living with HIV (59%) or at risk for HIV infection do not have access to prevention, care, and treatment, and a cure is still not possible. Moreover, during pregnancy, childbirth and breast feeding a quarter million children are becoming HIV infected each year and the vast majority live in poverty in Sub-Saharan African countries. Thus only an HIV vaccine can stop the epidemic.