88 drugs, vaccines filling HIV/AIDS pipeline

The FDA has approved more than 30 medicines to treat HIV/AIDS since the disease became widespread in the early 1980s. The life expectancy for many patients with the disease has increased considerably in that time. Without intervention, the average AIDS patient survives 9 to 11 years, and treatment with antiretroviral drugs can extend that to more than 20 years. But more effective medicines are still needed to prevent the spread of the disease. Of the 88 drugs in the HIV/AIDS pipeline (which include therapies in clinical testing or awaiting FDA approval), 49 are antivirals and 27 are vaccines, notes industry group PhRMA in a release. Article