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Carla Bailey remembers the crushing weight of her daily routine after being diagnosed with HIV.
“I had 28 pills a day, every day,” Carla recalls. “I was sick every day and wanted to die."
Carla was unable to maintain her normal life. She lost her job and lost hope as she struggled to achieve viral suppression, to control the virus at undetectable levels.
She was not alone in her initial struggle to achieve long-term HIV treatment success. Many strategies are necessary to overcome HIV, and it's impossible to end the epidemic without bringing HIV treatment to all who need it.
Advances in research have helped save countless lives by transforming HIV into a treatable, chronic condition for millions of people worldwide, helping individuals with the virus to lead healthier lives and eliminating the risk of transmitting HIV. At the same time, not everyone is achieving long-term HIV treatment success.
“We are living proof of what treatment advances can do, but this is only the starting point,” says Jeff Berry, Executive Director and co-founder of The Reunion Project, a U.S. alliance of long-term HIV survivors, and a seated member of Gilead’s Global Treatment Community Advisory Board. Jeff emphasizes the unique health needs long-term survivors often face.
"The needs of people living with HIV have evolved," he says. "The future of HIV care must be adaptable, because there is no one-size-fits-all approach that works for everyone to stay undetectable.”
In Carla’s case, she was unable to achieve virologic suppression initially. "With HIV medication, you can’t miss a dose, and I wasn't doing that,” she says.
All people living with HIV need to be virologically suppressed for their entire lives. What each of them needs to achieve successful long-term health outcomes is vastly different. The complexities of HIV care motivate Gilead scientists as they strive to discover and develop new treatment options.
A decade ago, progress on these efforts seemed to be at a standstill, but Gilead researchers like Eda Canales, Senior Director, Medicinal Chemistry and Research and Scott Schroeder, Scientist, Medical Chemistry refused to halt the pursuit of continuous scientific discovery.
“In discovering new medicines, there is no roadmap. But what really separates scientists is just this raw determination to solve these- what seems at so many times- intractable problems,” says Eda, adding, “And then, you know, it's the Eureka moment. It’s as if all of Gilead embraces you at that moment, because they all took part.”
Carla recently met several Gilead researchers and thanked them in person for their commitment to innovation in HIV research. “I was able to meet all nine of my grandchildren because of the efforts of the scientists at Gilead,” Carla said.
Today, Carla’s outlook has changed since those earlier years when treatment felt overwhelming. "I’m 70 and moving forward. And there's always hope."
The treatment journeys of Carla and Jeff spotlight both how far HIV care has progressed and how much work remains to bridge the treatment gap.
“We can, in partnership with people all around the world, come together to figure out how to end this epidemic,” said Jared Baeten, Senior Vice President, Clinical Development, Virology Therapeutic Area Head. “An important part of that is the creativity, the innovation, to be able to give people treatment and prevention options so that they can choose what works for them.”
Watch the video above to learn more about Gilead’s commitment to bridging the unmet HIV treatment gap.