Major grant provides new opportunities in the hunt for a cure for HIV

[Translate to English:] HIV er et virus, der nedbryder en vigtig del af immunforsvaret. Ole Søgaard fra Aarhus Universitet og Aarhus Universitetshospital har, sammen med en tysk og en amerikansk kollega, netop modtaget næsten 10 millioner kroner til at finde en kur mod HIV.

10 March 2015 by Helle Horskjær Hansen

For the coming two years, Aarhus will form the backdrop for a clinical trial that has the objective of finding a cure for HIV. Together with a German and an American colleague, Ole Søgaard from Aarhus University and Aarhus University Hospital has just received almost DKK 10 million from amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research, to find the cure.

"We will carry out a researcher-initiated clinical trial. The objective of the trial is to reduce the amount of cells that conceal HIV in the patients’ bodies. This should be seen as a step on the road to curing people of HIV. We combine standard HIV treatment with two other things; neutralising antibodies against viruses and also a medicament which activates the cells that conceal the virus," explains Ole Søgaard.

The clinical studies will run over the next two years with test subjects in Aarhus, Cologne and New York.

Ole Søgaard is pleased with the grant, which is the largest individual grant in the American foundation’s 25-year history.

"For our HIV cure research group and myself this grant is a massive pat on the back. It gives us the opportunity to carry out a unique and highly advanced clinical study. At the same time, it also cements our collaboration with leading international researchers in this field, including Professor Michel Nussenzweig who is one of the world's leading researchers in the field of B cells and dendritic cell immunology," he says.

Further information:

Ole Søgaard
Aarhus University, Department of Clinical Medicine and
Aarhus University Hospital, Department of Infectious Diseases
Direct tel.: +45 7845 2842
ole.schmeltz.sogaard@clin.au.dk