--- ---  * [Health](/section/health/) # Should We Be Trying Harder to Find a Cure for AIDS? by [TIME Staff](https://time.com/author/time-staff/) Jun 2, 2011 7:30 PM UTC  Timothy Brown, 44, left, and Matt Sharp, 54, stand for a photograph at the ferry building in San Francisco, California, U.S., on Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2011\. Brown may be the only person cured of AIDS. His case has driven Sangamo Biosciences Inc. to develop a new form of gene therapy that may give others the same opportunity. Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images \*\*\* Local Caption \*\*\* Timothy Brown; Matt Sharp Timothy Brown, 44, left, and Matt Sharp, 54, stand for a photograph at the ferry building in San Francisco, California, U.S., on Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2011\. Brown may be the only person cured of AIDS. His case has driven Sangamo Biosciences Inc. to develop a new form of gene therapy that may give others the same opportunity. Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images \*\*\* Local Caption \*\*\* Timothy Brown; Matt SharpBloomberg via Getty Images—2011 Bloomberg by [TIME Staff](https://time.com/author/time-staff/) Jun 2, 2011 7:30 PM UTC Since AIDS was first diagnosed, 30 years ago this week, HIV has infected more than 60 million people, half of whom have died. Only one person has been found to be cured of HIV, however — known as the “Berlin patient.” In this week’s _New York_ magazine, Tina Rosenberg tells his story.more She [writes](http://nymag.com/health/features/aids-cure-2011-6/): --- > “” --- The antiretroviral drugs that saved Brown’s life have turned AIDS from a virtual death sentence into a chronic illness for the 5 million people worldwide who have access to them. But despite increasing [evidence](http://healthland.time.com/?N=0&Nty=1&s=AIDS&x=0&y=0&p=0&cmd=tags&srchCat=Wellness#ixzz1O7zCHUqZ) that early treatment with these drugs can reduce the odds of HIV transmission — by 96%, according to one study — more than 8,000 Americans are on waiting lists for treatment as states cut funding because of the recession. (**More on TIME.com:** [Early Treatment With Anti-HIV Drugs Stops Transmission Between Partners](http://healthland.time.com/2011/05/13/early-treatment-with-anti-hiv-drugs-stops-transmission-between-partners/)) In Brown’s case, however, the drugs are no longer necessary. A decade after finding out he had HIV, Brown was diagnosed with leukemia, yet another life-threatening disease. In the end, though, that diagnosis might be what saved his life. For treatment of his cancer, Brown happened to see an enterprising doctor who wondered, what if we could cure both the blood cancer and the AIDS with the same therapy? Rosenberg [writes](http://nymag.com/health/features/aids-cure-2011-6/): --- > “” --- For more of Brown and Hütter’s story — and why AIDS researchers have long eschewed the search for a cure — see [here](http://nymag.com/health/features/aids-cure-2011-6/). As the 30th anniversary of AIDS approaches and a vaccine remains elusive, Rosenberg suggests a cure may not be. Should We Be Trying Harder to Find a Cure for AIDS? ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/archive/7141409/should-we-be-trying-harder-to-find-a-cure-for-aids/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/archive/7141409/should-we-be-trying-harder-to-find-a-cure-for-aids/"},"headline":"Should We Be Trying Harder to Find a Cure for AIDS?","datePublished":"2011-06-02T19:30:41.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-16T11:00:09.530Z","description":"Since AIDS was first diagnosed, 30 years ago this week, HIV has infected more than 60 million people, half of whom have died. 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