40+ years of discovery
For more than four decades, amfAR has been accelerating the pace of AIDS research and has contributed to numerous breakthroughs that are extending and saving lives around the world.
Since 1985, amfAR has raised more than $950 million in support of its programs and awarded more than 3,900 grants to research teams worldwide. Informed by thorough research and analysis, amfAR is also a highly respected advocate of compassionate AIDS-related public policy. Today, amfAR is a leader in the search for a cure for HIV and one of the largest funders of cure research worldwide.
Researchers & Advocates Found amfAR
The American Foundation for AIDS Research (amfAR) is formed.
Cutting-Edge Research Leads to Saving Lives
Early studies of the protease enzyme help spur the development of a powerful new class of anti-HIV drugs—protease inhibitors—which revolutionizes the treatment of HIV and leads to a drastic reduction in AIDS-related deaths. amfAR research goes on to contribute to the development of four of the six main classes of antiretroviral drugs in use today.
Mother-to-Child HIV Prevention Gets Boost
Research pioneered by amfAR leads to the use of antiretroviral drugs to prevent mothers from passing HIV on to their infants. As a result, this mode of transmission is now all but eliminated in many parts of the world.
Advocacy Speeds Up Drug Research & Approval
The Community-Based Clinical Trials network is established by amfAR, which shows that involving the HIV community expands research capacity and expedites the drug approval process.
Public Policy Victory Helps People Living with HIV
amfAR plays a central role in securing the passage of federal legislation that remains the bedrock of the domestic response to HIV including the Ryan White CARE Act of 1990, which provides emergency relief to hard-hit states and local communities.
A Cure Pathway Is Unlocked
Nathaniel Landau, an amfAR grantee, publishes research demonstrating that HIV requires a protein called CCR5 to infect cells, which leads to new HIV medications and a breakthrough showing that a cure is possible.
Global Health Program Launches
amfAR creates TREAT Asia, a network of clinics, hospitals, and research institutions working to ensure the safe and effective delivery of HIV/AIDS treatments across Asia and the Pacific.
amfAR Helps Prove Curing HIV Is Possible
amfAR-supported researchers confirm that all virus has been eliminated from “the Berlin patient,” who was the first case of someone cured of HIV.
Researchers Are Brought Together to Replicate Cure
IciStem is launched and funded by amfAR. This European research consortium succeeds in replicating the Berlin Patient’s cure in patients in London, England; Düsseldorf, Germany; and Geneva, Switzerland, as well as helps researchers map other notable remission cases.
An Advance in HIV Research Benefits Everyone
Dr. Drew Weissman, an amfAR grantee, along with collaborator Dr. Katalin Karikó, receive the Nobel Prize for pioneering work on mRNA, which proved instrumental in the development of effective vaccines for Covid-19.
New Tech Drives Cure Breakthrough
amfAR funds Dr. Sharon Lewin’s groundbreaking research that shows dormant HIV could be reactivated using mRNA technology—making infected cells visible to the immune system and overcoming a major barrier to curing HIV at scale.
1985
Researchers & Advocates Found amfAR
The American Foundation for AIDS Research (amfAR) is formed.
1986
Cutting-Edge Research Leads to Saving Lives
Early studies of the protease enzyme help spur the development of a powerful new class of anti-HIV drugs—protease inhibitors—which revolutionizes the treatment of HIV and leads to a drastic reduction in AIDS-related deaths. amfAR research goes on to contribute to the development of four of the six main classes of antiretroviral drugs in use today.
1988
Mother-to-Child HIV Prevention Gets Boost
Research pioneered by amfAR leads to the use of antiretroviral drugs to prevent mothers from passing HIV on to their infants. As a result, this mode of transmission is now all but eliminated in many parts of the world.
1989
Advocacy Speeds Up Drug Research & Approval
The Community-Based Clinical Trials network is established by amfAR, which shows that involving the HIV community expands research capacity and expedites the drug approval process.
1990
Public Policy Victory Helps People Living with HIV
amfAR plays a central role in securing the passage of federal legislation that remains the bedrock of the domestic response to HIV including the Ryan White CARE Act of 1990, which provides emergency relief to hard-hit states and local communities.
1996
A Cure Pathway Is Unlocked
Nathaniel Landau, an amfAR grantee, publishes research demonstrating that HIV requires a protein called CCR5 to infect cells, which leads to new HIV medications and a breakthrough showing that a cure is possible.
2001
Global Health Program Launches
amfAR creates TREAT Asia, a network of clinics, hospitals, and research institutions working to ensure the safe and effective delivery of HIV/AIDS treatments across Asia and the Pacific.
2008
amfAR Helps Prove Curing HIV Is Possible
amfAR-supported researchers confirm that all virus has been eliminated from “the Berlin patient,” who was the first case of someone cured of HIV.
2014
Researchers Are Brought Together to Replicate Cure
IciStem is launched and funded by amfAR. This European research consortium succeeds in replicating the Berlin Patient’s cure in patients in London, England; Düsseldorf, Germany; and Geneva, Switzerland, as well as helps researchers map other notable remission cases.
2023
An Advance in HIV Research Benefits Everyone
Dr. Drew Weissman, an amfAR grantee, along with collaborator Dr. Katalin Karikó, receive the Nobel Prize for pioneering work on mRNA, which proved instrumental in the development of effective vaccines for Covid-19.
2025
New Tech Drives Cure Breakthrough
amfAR funds Dr. Sharon Lewin’s groundbreaking research that shows dormant HIV could be reactivated using mRNA technology—making infected cells visible to the immune system and overcoming a major barrier to curing HIV at scale.