Twenty years of information,
advocacy and inspiration—1989

Project Inform achievements (1985–2004)     View PDF

Project Inform milestones:

• Became extensively involved with the National Institutes of Health (NIH) research programs and committees.
• Project Inform co-founder appointed as first community member on National Academy of Science Institute of Medicine Roundtable on AIDS Drug Development, leading to extensive academic, NIH, and industry advocacy and influence.
• Successfully persuaded Dr. Anthony Fauci, head of National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), to create a scientific meeting focused on restoring the immune system in people with advanced AIDS, the forerunner of today’s Immune Restoration Think Tank (IRTT) conferences.

Epidemic milestones:

• After enormous community pressure, AZT manufacturer Burroughs Wellcome lowers the price of the drug by 20%.
• First guidelines for the prevention of Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP), an AIDS-related opportunistic infection and major cause of morbidity and mortality for people with HIV, are issued by the CDC.
• 5th International AIDS Conference (“The Scientific and Social Challenge of AIDS”) is held in Montreal, Canada.
• U.S. Congress creates the National Commission on AIDS.
• Head of NIH's National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), Dr. Anthony Fauci, endorses parallel track policy, giving those that do not qualify for clinical trials access to experimental treatments.
• ACT UP holds demonstration at Saint Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City.
• Dancer and choreographer Alvin Ailey dies of AIDS.
• Photographer Robert Mapplethorpe dies of AIDS.
• U.S. TO DATE TOTAL:  115,786 AIDS cases; 70,313 AIDS deaths