This Timeline of HIV/AIDS Drugs Shows How Far We’ve Come

When HIV/AIDS was discovered in 1981, it was a death sentence for anyone unlucky enough to get the immune system-suppressing disease. But more than 30 years later, many people who have HIV/AIDS are able to live full, healthier lives, thanks to the development of antiviral medicines and decades of work by activists to ensure proper medical care for those affected.

And those antiviral medications have come a long way. Here is a timeline of the development HIV/AID treatments from the first tries to today’s experimental treatments:

March 9, 1987: The FDA approves the first antiretroviral medicine, zidovudine (AZT), for use. The drug worked by slowing down the speed of virus replication, and in some cases kept it from spreading. Congress approves $30 million in emergency funding to send the medicine to states to combat the spread of AIDS in the U.S.

The FDA also issues regulations to speed up additional retroviral drug development.

June 1995: The FDA approves the first protease inhibitor, saquinavir, which stops the spread of the virus by blocking an enzyme produced by HIV/AIDS when it wants to infect healthy cells. This opens the door for a new type of drug therapy.

September 26, 1997: The FDA approves a pill that combines two types of antiviral medicines. The medicine, Combivir, cut down the growing number of pills AIDS/HIV patients had to take.

1998: Clinical trials begin for a vaccine, AIDSVAX. It was later shown to not offer any significant protection.

2006: First pill approved by the FDA that combines three drug treatments into one, once-a-day medicine, Atripla.

July 9, 2010: A South African study presented at the International AIDS Conference shows antiretroviral-based vaginal microbicides help reduce sexual transmission of the disease to women. The microbicide is usually applied inside the vagina as a gel, cream, film or suppository.

July 13, 2011: First evidence is presented that individuals without HIV/AIDS who take an antiviral pill each day have a lower chance of contracting the disease through sexual contact.

July 16, 2012: The FDA approves the first drug that could prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS via sexual contact in healthy individuals. The drug, Truvada, was the first pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) medicine on the market.

Jan. 28, 2016: Researchers announce resistance to tenofovir, a common HIV treatment medicine, is becoming common.

2016: British scientists announce the first treatment that appeared to have cured a 44-year-old man. The treatment was said to “track down and destroy” HIV/AIDS, the UK-based The Times reported.

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Scientists haven’t stopped work. They’re testing new drug combinations, and new drug delivery systems, such as a Nuvaring-style birth control ring with antiviral medicines, hope to enter the market one day, too.

The World Health Organization estimated 36.7 million people were living with HIV/AIDS worldwide as of 2015. As of June 2016, 18.2 million people were undergoing antiviral treatment, according to UNAIDS.

While there’s still a long way to go—and the lingering threat from viral resistance to current medicines—there’s no doubt the world has come a long way with HIV/AIDS treatment.

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from This Timeline of HIV/AIDS Drugs Shows How Far We’ve Come