[Press kit]

N

AmFAR
AIDS RESEARCH
733 Third Avenue
Twelfth Floor
New York, NY 10017
Tel: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
5900 Wilshire Boulevard
Suite 3025
Los Angeles, CA 90036
Tel: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
1828 L Street, N.W
Suite 802
Washington, DC 20036
Tel: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
http://www.amfar.org
AMERICAN
FOUNDATION
FOR AIDS
RESEARCH

The American Foundation for AIDS Research (AmFAR) is the nation's
leading nonprofit organization dedicated to the support of HIV/AIDS research.
Seeking prevention methods, including a preventive vaccine, improved treatments, and
ultimately a cure, AmFAR-funded research is making a difference in the lives of people
with HIV/AIDS and in the effort to arrest the epidemic.
Funded by private philanthropic contributions, AmFAR has invested over
$144 million in support for its programs, primarily through grants to more than 1,700
research teams since its founding in 1985. More than 78% of all funds received by
AmFAR over the past twelve years have been directed to its research programs. These
programs fund innovative projects, often in areas of biomedical and psychosocial
research that are controversial or carry a higher level of risk than most traditional
grant makers would fund. A project's selection, which follows rigorous peer review
by highly qualified professionals who volunteer their advisory services, is based on
promise, relevance, and scientific merit.
AmFAR's Basic Research program seeks the knowledge needed to understand HIV and its disease-causing properties so that strategies can be devised to control
and prevent HIV infection. Grants have been made for the development of faster,
more accurate methods of diagnosing drug-resistant TB, for the study of how HIV
affects immune cells other than T cells, and for studies in the molecular biology and
genetics of HIV, including the initial characterization of HIV protease and new
approaches to treatment based on gene therapy. Currently, AmFAR is committed to
raising and awarding $2 million to basic research projects in HIV vaccine development
and immune reconstitution.
For nearly a decade, AmFAR's Clinical Research and Information program
has responded actively to the needs of people with HIV/AIDS for more effective
treatments and for the rapid but rigorous testing of new treatments. More than 35,000
patients nationwide have gained access to such treatments through AmFAR's Community-Based Clinical Trials Network. Next year, AmFAR will begin investing in projects
that address two other clinical-research issues: the underrepresentaion of women and
minorities in clinical trials and the need for pilot studies to determine whether ideas
with promising laboratory results should be studied in large clinical trials with humans.
AmFAR publishes the AIDS/HIV Treatment Directory, which delivers comprehensive
clinical trial and treatment information to patients and their physicians. Through a
series of community forums, it also provides up-to-date treatment information to lay
audiences, physicians, and caregivers.
AmFAR, through its Public Policy program, is a powerful and respected
advocate for sound AIDS-related public policies and protection of the rights of people
with HIV/AIDS. Much of AmFAR's advocacy effort focuses on building congressional
support both for funding and for improved coordination in HIV/AIDS research.
Prevention Science at AmFAR focuses on the research needed to develop
projects that help people reduce their risk of HIV infection. AmFAR's responsiveness
to novel ideas and its flexible program strategies enable it to fund innovative community-based prevention projects, such as needle-exchange programs. By broadly distributing its research results, AmFAR promotes an AIDS-prevention agenda that is driven
by a science-based knowledge of what has been shown to work, not by an uncertain
belief in what ought to work.
AIDS research has already achieved results that are lengthening and improving
the lives of many people with HIV disease. As the HIV/AIDS epidemic continues to
spread, every dollar contributed to research becomes more important.