People who don’t respond to HIV meds overlooked by pharma, researchers

People who don’t respond to HIV meds overlooked by pharma, researchers

Inside STAT: People who don’t respond to HIV meds overlooked by pharma, researchers

NELSON VERGEL'S IMMUNE SYSTEM HAS NOT RECOVERED DESPITE ANTIRETROVIRAL THERAPIES.
(MICHAEL STARGHILL JR. FOR STAT)

Antiretroviral therapies have revolutionized the lives of many people with HIV, keeping their viral loads down and restoring their immune health. But some people don’t see their immune systems bounce back, and their beaten-down defenses leave them vulnerable to heart attacks, cancers, and dangerous infections. What’s more, drug companies aren’t pursuing new treatments that could help these so-called immunologic non-responders. “The field is moving on,” says Nelson Vergel, who has been dealing with HIV for 35 years. STAT contributor Apoorva Mandavilli has more here about how Vergel and a group of other HIV/AIDS activists are trying to change that.