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  • Perspective
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International AIDS Society global scientific strategy: towards an HIV cure 2016

Abstract

Antiretroviral therapy is not curative. Given the challenges in providing lifelong therapy to a global population of more than 35 million people living with HIV, there is intense interest in developing a cure for HIV infection. The International AIDS Society convened a group of international experts to develop a scientific strategy for research towards an HIV cure. This Perspective summarizes the group's strategy.

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Figure 1: Cases of transient or sustained remission off ART.
Figure 2: Mechanisms that maintain HIV latency in resting CD4+ T cells.
Figure 3: The use of targeted nucleases against HIV.

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Acknowledgements

J.L. is supported in part by federal funds from the NCI/NIH under contract no. HHSN261200800001E. The content of this publication does not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the DHHS, nor does mention of trade names, commercial products or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. government. The views expressed are those of the authors and should not be construed to represent the positions of the U.S. Army, the Department of Defense or the US National Institutes of Health. Y.-R.L. is a World Health Organization (WHO) staff member. The opinions herein are those of the authors and should not be construed as official or representing the views of the WHO. The authors acknowledge T. Rasmussen, T. Mota and M. Crane for assistance with preparation of figures.

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Correspondence to Steven G Deeks.

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S.G.D. has received research funding and support from Gilead Sciences, Merck and ViiV, and consulting fees from Bristol-Myers Squibb, Bionor and InVirVax. J.V.L. is a full-time employee of ViiV Healthcare, a company developing and distributing antiretroviral drugs. J.W.M. is a consultant to Gilead Sciences, has received research funding from Gilead Sciences and Bristol-Myers Squibb and owns shares in Co-Crystal Pharma, Inc. D.M.M. has received research funding from Gilead Sciences, Bristol-Myers Squibb and Qura Therapeutics, consulting fees from Merck Research Laboratories, and owns common stock in Gilead Sciences A.S.-C. reports a grant from MSD, consultancy honoraria from ViiV healthcare, lecture honoraria from MSD, Gilead and Bristol-Myers Squibb. S.R.L.'s institution receives funding for investigator-initiated studies from Merck, Gilead Sciences, Viiv and Tetralogic pharmaceuticals. She has received consulting fees from and is on the advisory board of Bionor and honoraria for educational activities from Viiv and Merck.

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Deeks, S., Lewin, S., Ross, A. et al. International AIDS Society global scientific strategy: towards an HIV cure 2016. Nat Med 22, 839–850 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/nm.4108

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