amfAR’s MISSION
amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research, is dedicated to ending the global AIDS epidemic through innovative research.
Since 1985, amfAR has invested nearly $600 million in its programs and has awarded more than 3,500 grants to research teams worldwide.
WHY WE NEED A CURE
Today, nearly 40 million people are living with HIV, and every day more than 4,100 people contract HIV – approximately 170 every hour.
While powerful drugs can give people with HIV a normal lifespan, they must take their medication every day for life or the virus comes roaring back.
Even with tens of billions of dollars spent on antiretroviral drugs each year, one quarter of all people living with HIV don't have access to treatment.
We will not end the AIDS pandemic without a cure. A cure – and an end to AIDS – would free up precious resources that could be used for other global health crises – like COVID-19.
LEADING THE WAY
In 2018 amfAR was the second largest funder of HIV cure research in the world after the U.S. National Institutes of Health, and the largest among philanthropic organizations
In just the last five years, amfAR has awarded cure-focused grants totaling more than $50 million to support research conducted by 300 scientists working at close to 100 institutions in 16 countries.
The amfAR Institute for HIV Cure Research at UCSF has launched a complex clinical trial that aims to ‘train’ the body to control the virus without the need for anti-HIV treatment.
amfAR is also a leader in cell and gene therapy approaches to a cure and has embarked on an ambitious study that aims to deliver the gene therapy tools directly into the body through injection
We have brought in experts from outside the field of HIV cure research, such as bioengineers, and have applied new tools and technologies to cure research, including nanotechnology and protein “fingerprinting.”
amfAR AND COVID-19
As a leader in infectious disease research, early in the COVID-19 pandemic amfAR made a strategic decision to apply its experience and expertise to this new crisis. In April 2020, we temporarily expanded our efforts to include research on the coronavirus, establishing the amfAR Fund to Fight COVID-19.
Through the Fund, we have supported research on antibodies and the kidney disease that can be a deadly complication of COVID-19. We are currently supporting a study of the risks for COVID “long-haulers”—those who continue to experience debilitating symptoms long after clearing infection—who are living with HIV, and a study of the effect of COVID-19 on the HIV reservoir.
amfAR was among the first to demonstrate that disproportionately Black communities in the U.S. are bearing the brunt of the COVID-19 pandemic. An amfAR study released in May 2020 was widely reported in the media and helped galvanize efforts to address COVID-related disparities.
We will continue to fund COVID-19 research as long as this crisis persists. However, we remain fully committed to HIV research and to finding a cure for the 38 million people worldwide living with HIV, and hope soon to return to advancing HIV cure research exclusively.