A collage of images including

How Science Gets Done

The long quest to stop the human immunodeficiency virus offers an instructive example.

By Melissa Hartman • Illustration by Dung Hoang
  • 1983

    Scientists identify virus that causes AIDS

  • 1987

    FDA approves AZT

  • 1996

    HAART hits the market

  • 1997

    U.S. AIDS deaths decline by 42%

  • 2003

    President Bush announces creation of PEPFAR

  • 2010

    A record 5.25 million people receive HIV treatment in LMICs

  • 2012

    FDA approves Truvada for PrEP

  • 2021

    FDA approves long-acting injectables for PrEP and HIV treatment

  • 2024

    Twice-yearly injectable PrEP found 100% effective at preventing HIV acquisition

  • 2025

    Congress misses deadline to renew PEPFAR