Time line on HIV/AIDS treatment advances over the past 25 years

November 20, 2006

1981	CDC reports a new pneumonia, Pneumocystis carinii, in five gay men, later determined to be the first cases of AIDS
1983	First recommendations made for preventing transmission of HIV through sexual contact and blood transfusions
1985	First International AIDS Conference held in Atlanta, Ga.
1986	Zidovudine (AZT) begins clinical trials as first drug to treat AIDS; Surgeon General calls for education and condom use; clean syringe distribution program begins in Boston and New Haven, Conn.
1987	AZT approved by the FDA; FDA creates new class of experimental drugs, Investigational New Drugs, which accelerates drug approval by two to three years
1988	International AIDS Society forms
1990	FDA approves AZT for pediatric AIDS
1991	CDC recommends restrictions on the practice of HIV-positive healthcare workers
1992	First clinical trials of combination therapies; FDA licenses first rapid HIV test
1994	U.S. Public Health Service recommends use of AZT by pregnant women
1995	First PI, saquinavir (Fortovase, Roche), approved in record time by FDA beginning new era of highly active antiretroviral therapy
1996	First NNRTI, nevirapine (Viramune, Boehringer Ingelheim), is approved; first viral load test approved; first HIV urine test approved; drug "cocktails" beginpatients take as many as 60 pills per day
1998	Clinical trials begin for vaccine, AIDSVAX; HHS issues first national guidelines for use of antiretroviral therapy in adults
2000	UNAIDS, WHO negotiate reduced drug prices with pharmaceutical manufacturers for use in developing countries
2001	Generic drug manufacturers offer to produce discounted drugs for developing countries
2002	Approval of Oraquick Rapid HIV1 antibody test-first test to use finger prick
2003	President Bush announces PEPFAR, President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, providing aid to other countries
2004	First saliva-based HIV test approved
2005	AZT's patent expires and FDA approves several generic versions
2006	First single-pill, once-daily, triple-drug combination treatment approved (Atripla)

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