January:
NIH workshops on long term effectiveness research, studies designed to look at “when to start” and switch HAART, and for long-term side effects.
TAG hires Yvette Delph as new Antiviral Project Director. Completion of TAG’s AIDS Vaccine Research at the NIH: A Critical Review, by Gregg Gonsalves.
February:
NIAID Council/ARAC discuss long-term effectiveness research. The Lancet commissions Mark Harrington to write on the “when to start” controversy.
March:
Long-time activist Jon Ende dies in New York. TAG talks on “When to Start” at San Francisco AIDS Update, on STIs at European Community Advisory Board. First International HIV Pharmacology Workshop.
April:
Journalist Mark Schoofs wins Pulitzer Prize for his Village Voice “AIDS in Africa” series. Gregg and Mark meet with Zackie Achmat from South Africa’s Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) in New York City and start planning South African treatment literacy workshops. TAG/amfAR New Targets Workshop, Dedham (MA) — designed by Gregg Gonsalves — focuses on potential new HIV drug targets.
May:
Philadelphia memorial service for long-time activist Kiyoshi Kuromiya.
HIV immunologist Janis Giorgi dies of ovarian cancer.
June:
HHS Guidelines panel debates “When to start?” Moves reluctantly towards new, lower threshold of 350 CD4 cells/30,000 viral load. Publication of “Hit HIV-1 hard, but only when necessary,” by TAG’s Mark Harrington and Brown University’s Charles Carpenter in The Lancet (vol. 355/no. 9221). TAG founding director Peter Staley honored at amfAR Ellis Island benefit. Michael Marco completes TAG’s The Hepatitis Report.
July:
TAG’s Exploring the American Response to the Global AIDS Pandemic, by Derek Link.
Long-time activist Stephen Gendin dies of AIDS-related lymphoma.
Treatment Action Campaign/Médécins sans Frontières (MSF) workshop on access to antiretroviral treatment, Durban. March for Global Treatment Access. International AIDS Conference, Durban, South Africa. Treatment activism is global now. Nelson Mandela closes the conference.
September:
FDA approves Abbott’s lopinavir/ritonavir (Kaletra).
October:
Second STI Workshop, Shaumburg (IL). Super-philanthropist Irene Diamond donates $50,000 for the TAC/TAG workshops. FDA approves Videx EC (enteric coated ddI).
November:
Mark Harrington gives talk on “Brazil: What Went Right?” at 10th Annual Brazilian PWA conference, Rio de Janeiro. NATAF held in Dallas. United States Presidential election deadlock due to disputed Florida vote count.
FDA approves Glaxo’s fixed-dose combo of abacavir, 3TC and AZT (Trizivir).
TAC/TAG workshops held in Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town, South Africa.
December:
Fourth annual Research in Action Awards honor activist and TAG board member Lynda Dee, NIAID Director Anthony S. Fauci, M.D., and Broadway Cares director Tom Viola.
U.S. Supreme Court halts Florida recount, selecting popular vote loser G. W. Bush as President. FDA issues safety alert on unapproved goat serum AIDS treatment.