A Nobel Laureate, Francoise Barre-Sinoussi, has said eff orts were being made to develop a universal cure for HIV and cancer through collaboration. Barre-Sinoussi, a codiscoverer of the HIV, said this in Paris while conducting some select journalists on a tour of the sophisticated laboratories at Institut Pasteur. Th e News Agency of Nigeria reports that Barre-Sinoussi and Luc Montagnier co-discovered the HIV in 1983. She also stated that the HIV Cure and Cancer Forum would on Saturday be inaugurated at the Institut Curie in Paris.
“Eff orts are now underway to determine if these cancer therapies can be used to buildv up the immune system of patients with HIV. Th is will be in such a way that HIV patients can achieve a durable and perhaps life-long treatment– free state of remission,’’ she said. Continuing, she said: “We know that controlling HIV in the absence of therapy will require the generation and maintenance of powerful CD8+ or Killer-T cells that can target vulnerable parts of the virus. “Th e challenge is remarkably similar to that in oncology where the goal of innovative therapies is to generate Killer T cells that recognises and clear cancer cells. Timothy Brown is the only person cured of HIV, and this was due to the work of a highly resourceful team of Oncologists. “His case illustrates that we need to do more to incentivise scientists to work across diseases and to ensure that research funding allows these synergies.” Th e Emeritus Director of Research at Inserm expressed optimism that synergy would continue to strengthen the sciences and research.
