New Therapies for a World Without HIV

HIV treatment has come a long way from the pandemic of the 1980s–1990s to today’s antiretroviral treatments that allow 38 million people to live with HIV successfully. However, over 1 million are newly infected annually, and many lack access to antiviral drugs.

Paul Volberding, who co-created the world’s first comprehensive HIV/AIDS program in 1983 at San Francisco General Hospital and has been a leading voice in HIV treatment guidelines since 1996, will provide a historical perspective on this evolution. Moupali Das, vice president of clinical development for HIV prevention at Gilead Sciences, will discuss Lenacapavir—an injectable drug approved by the FDA in 2022 for multi-drug-resistant HIV that showed high effectiveness at HIV prevention in 2024 clinical trials.

Together they will explore the past and present of HIV and discuss whether the end of HIV might be in sight for developing countries, and identify what barriers to success remain.

About the Speakers

Paul Volberding is an emeritus professor of medicine, epidemiology and biostatistics at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF). Volberding trained in internal medicine and hematology and medical oncology. He received his undergraduate education at the University of Chicago and graduated from the University of Minnesota School of Medicine. He completed his residency at the University of Utah and his fellowship at UCSF. Volberding established the Medical Oncology Division at San Francisco General Hospital where he co-created the world’s first comprehensive clinical and research program addressing the new HIV/AIDS epidemic in 1983. He subsequently served as the Medical Service Chief at the San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center and as Vice Chair of the UCSF Department of Medicine. He directed the UCSF AIDS Research Institute prior to retiring in 2020.

Volberding is a widely recognized expert in clinical HIV management, conducted a productive career in clinical investigations of antiretroviral therapies, and founded the medical education organization the International Antiretroviral Society-USA, which has published leading AIDS treatment guidelines since 1996. He served as a founding member and second president of the International AIDS Society and served as the president of the HIV Medicine Association of the Infectious Diseases Society of America. Volberding is a fellow of the IDSA and the AAAS and was elected to the Association of American Physicians. He is a master of the American College of Physicians and a fellow of the Royal College of Physicians, London. Volberding is an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine where he has been extremely active. He has served on and chaired numerous consensus committees and has been a member of the NAM Standing Committee on Social Security Administration Disability Determination Processes for over 15 years.

Moupali Das is vice president, clinical development, HIV prevention and virology pediatrics, at Gilead Sciences. She is an infectious diseases/HIV trained physician with a background in academic medicine and public health. As head of HIV prevention, Das leads high-performing cross-functional teams accountable for the overall development strategy and the conception, design and execution of HIV prevention clinical trials from Phase 1 through Phase 4.

Das is dedicated to ensuring efficient development and regulatory approvals to support rapid access to innovative products to help end the HIV epidemic. Das oversees the pediatrics team, whose members are deeply committed to ensuring the development of pediatric formulations for Gilead’s virology medications.

About the Series

The Joseph Priestley Society (JPS) promotes a deeper understanding of science, technology, and industry, with an emphasis on innovation and entrepreneurship. Speakers are leaders from a wide variety of large and small chemical companies and the financial, consulting, and academic communities. Watch past events at sciencehistory.org/jpsvideos.

For more information about this event, please contact jps@sciencehistory.org.

Featured image: HIV medication bottles, various dates