A European man may be the sixth person in the world to be cured of HIV, marking a potentially major development in the fight to end the epidemic.
“The Geneva Patient,” as he is referred to by doctors, has been receiving antiretroviral treatment for nearly twenty years. But it was a stem cell transplant to combat blood cancer that may have rid him of the virus for good, as NBC reported this week. The patient’s Swiss doctors say that as of July, he has been off antiretroviral drugs for 20 months without a viral rebound.
Five people worldwide have previously been identified as definitely or possibly cured, but there’s a major contrast between their recoveries and this latest development. Unlike the five who came before him, the Geneva Patient did not receive stem cells from a person carrying the genetic mutation CCR5 Δ32, which helps fight off HIV. Other HIV patients who received stem cells without the mutation temporarily appeared to be in remission, but experienced a viral rebound within a year following their treatment.
Scientists will present more details on the Geneva Patient’s case at the International AIDS Society Conference on HIV Science in Brisbane, Australia next week. Although they don’t know why this case is so different, and can’t rule out the possibility that their patient may not be fully cured, their findings “suggest that what we once assumed was impossible might in fact be possible,” HIV researcher Dr. Steven Deeks told NBC.
The Swiss bombshell is the latest in a series of encouraging medical developments over the past two years, as scientists race to find cures and vaccines for HIV/AIDS. Pharmaceutical conglomerates Moderna and Johnson & Johnson are both developing potential vaccines for the virus, one of which began human trials in 2022. This week, Excision BioTherapeutics announced that the FDA had approved the company’s in-development “potentially curative” HIV therapy for accelerated review.
Slowly but surely, we’re inching our way towards the end of this deadly crisis — but not if Republicans have anything to say about it. Last week, GOP lawmakers proposed major budget cuts across U.S. healthcare programs, including slashing $238 million from the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program and $32 million from the Minority HIV/AIDS Fund.
“If House Republicans had it their way, there would be another AIDS epidemic in America,” said Paul Kawata, executive director of the HIV/AIDS nonprofit NMAC, in a statement condemning the cuts on July 14. “We need to be clear: these proposed cuts would lead to unnecessary death and suffering. They must be stopped.”
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