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DURBAN, July 16 (Xinhua) -- The prospects of developing safe, effective, and globally scalable approaches to curing or achieving sustained remission of HIV infection take centre stage at the upcoming 21st International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2016), organizers said on Saturday.
"HIV cure research has the potential to alter the future of this epidemic," said Nobel Laureate Françoise Barré-Sinoussi, co-chair of the International AIDS Society (IAS) Towards an HIV Cure Initiative.
At AIDS 2016 scheduled for July 18-22, 18,000 scientists, policymakers, advocates and people living with HIV will meet to highlight the latest accomplishments and challenges in a rapidly expanding area of scientific inquiry that few could have imagined at the historic 13th International AIDS Conference in Durban 16 years ago, which inspired a new paradigm for HIV treatment access that helped change the trajectory of the global AIDS epidemic.
"With 37 million people currently living with HIV worldwide, and another 2 million newly infected each year, an effective approach to curing or achieving sustained remission of HIV infection would be a groundbreaking advance in global health," said Barre-Sinoussi.
Research to achieve such cures is in a formative stage, but significant advances are being made and will be explored in Durban at the fifth annual Towards and HIV Cure Symposium, and with the release of the IAS Global Scientific Strategy: Towards an HIV Cure 2016.
"HIV cure research became a scientific reality with the launch of the first IAS Global Scientific Strategy: Towards an HIV Cure at AIDS 2012," IAS President Chris Beyrer said.
"Today, HIV cure research has come into its own as a top HIV research priority, marked by significant advances in our understanding of the scientific challenges and opportunities, more cure-focused research collaborations, and a new optimism that a cure or sustainable remission for HIV is feasible," said Beyrer.
The 2016 Towards an HIV Cure Symposium took place immediately preceding AIDS 2016, scheduled for July 18-22 in Durban.
The symposium includes presentations on the latest scientific advances in HIV cure research, along with opportunities for dialogue among scientists, clinical researchers, representative of funding agencies, and the community involved in HIV research worldwide through abstract driven sessions, poster exhibitions, and roundtable discussions. Enditem
