The Foundation for AIDS Research

“The form 990 was prepared by a nationally renowned accounting firm in conjunction with the organization's financial department. A copy of the form 990 was circulated to the full board of trustees for discussion and comment. Each board member was provided ample opportunity to comment on the information contained in the 990 prior to its filing with the internal revenue service.”

“Each officer, director, trustee and key employee of amfar ("foundation") is required to annually disclose any conflicts of interest that arise by virtue of employment, board service, or position with the foundation. The foundation monitors compliance with its conflict of interest policy through an annual questionnaire/disclosure statement that is distributed to these individuals. Potential conflicts are investigated immediately.”

“Amfar ("foundation for aids research") undertakes a thorough process to ensure that the compensation it pays to its top management official and all of its officers and key employees is reasonable given the market in which the foundation operates. An independent consulting firm qualified in the area of nonprofit compensation prepares an analysis of market compensation ranges by job function and presents it to the compensation committee of the board. Amfar's last independent compensation study was conducted in august of 2020 to ensure that the president & ceo's compensation is reasonable given the market in which the foundation operates. On the basis of this information, staff compensation is determined according to salary ranges approved by the compensation committee of the board, in consultation with the ceo and cfo. Ceo compensation is reviewed and determined annually by the compensation committee of the board utilizing the independent consultant analysis.”

“Amfar makes its form 990 available to the public by retaining a copy at its place of business and on its website, www.amfar.org. The form 990 is likewise published on the internet at www.guidestar.org. The foundation's financial statements are made available in its annual report and on its website. The foundation's governing documents and conflict of interest policy are not ordinarily made available to the public, but, if requested will be provided at management's discretion.”

“The foundation for aids research is an international not-for-profit organization incorporated in new york in 1989. Amfar was formed through the unification in 1985 of two not-for-profit organizations, the aids medical foundation ("amf"), incorporated in new york in april 1983, and the national aids research foundation, incorporated in california in august 1985. First based in california, amfar transferred its legal domicile to new york in 1989, using the initial incorporation documents of amf, making it amf's legal successor. Amfar has offices in new york, ny, washington, d.c., and bangkok, thailand. On march 7, 2005, the board of trustees of the american foundation for aids research approved a change in legal name to "the foundation for aids research." on october 18, 2005, the new york state department of state approved this change. In addition, the foundation has secured approval for doing business as (dba) the following: - american foundation for aids research - amfar - aids research foundation amfar is dedicated to ending the global aids epidemic through innovative research. The foundation accomplishes this mission through: - research to explore scientific approaches for preventing, treating, and curing hiv and other infectious disease threats and enhancing the health and survival of people living with hiv; - international initiatives to facilitate the development and implementation of effective research, treatment, prevention, and education strategies in low- and middle-income countries; - public policy analysis and the advocacy of rational and compassionate policies that promote public health and protect the rights of people threatened by hiv/aids; and - public information programs to build awareness of the continued threat hiv/aids poses and to provide up-to-date medical, scientific, and prevention information to people living with hiv/aids, healthcare professionals, and the public.”

“Arche grants controlling hiv two arche grants funded studies to understand and potentially enhance control of hiv, either as a result of a cure intervention or as a natural occurrence. Studies have shown that for some individuals with art, administering a cocktail of broadly neutralizing antibodies (bnabs) at the time of temporarily stopping artas part of a clinical cure studyimproves control of hiv, though the virus eventually reappears despite absence of detectable levels of art or bnabs. Dr. Rachel rutishauser and a team of co-investigators from the u.s. And denmark, including drs. Steven deeks and michael peluso of the amfar institute for hiv cure research at ucsf, are investigating possible mechanisms that mediate this control. Dr. Xu yu of massachusetts general hospital, received additional arche funding to continue her study aimed at understanding why some people living with hivsuch as loreen willenberg and an argentinian woman known as the esperanza patientare seemingly able to clear replication-competent hiv without the benefit of art or other medical interventions. The additional funding supports high-resolution reservoir evaluations of 66 individuals who have been on art for at least 15 years but who may be controlling hiv naturally, and, most importantly, a clinical study to determine if time and immunity have led to cures like those that occurred in the two women mentioned above. Target grants reducing the hiv reservoir dr. James termini, of the university of miami, is studying anti-hiv bnabs, which can control hiv replication in the absence of antiretrovirals in animal models but have not been shown to eradicate hiv reservoirs. Dr. Termini is investigating if using such antibodies with greatly enhanced ability to promote a form of anti-virus immunity known as adcc, or antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity, might overcome this roadblock. Dr. Mary ann checkley-luttge, of case western reserve university, is testing two types of genetically engineered natural killer (nk) cells, or ink cells, to reduce the hiv reservoir. One of these cell types is genetically engineered to include car genes. Car t cells have been highly effective in the treatment of certain types of blood cancers. Combining the ink cells with bnabs, she and her team will assess their potency against hiv reservoirs in test-tube studies. If the researchers see more than a 50% reduction in intact hiv reservoir virus from cells taken from six people living with hiv, the team will consider the next stepin vivo animal and human studies. Dr. Yiming yin, of boston children's hospital, aims to genetically engineer b cells, imbuing them with the ability to target critical portions of the hiv envelope. Dr. Yin is testing a hypothesis that b cells expressing antibodies capable of neutralizing different hiv variants could reduce the size of the hiv reservoir and perhaps even replace antiretroviral therapy. Borrowing from cancer therapies two researchers who received target grants are studying the ability of anti-cancer agents to take advantage of the hiv reservoir's vulnerabilities. Dr. Michael peluso of ucsf is testing the immunity-stimulating ability of a drug used to treat bladder cancer to suppress hiv rebound in people after treatment interruption. And dr. Adam spivak, of the university of utah, salt lake city, is investigating the potential of a leukemia drug for reducing the hiv reservoir by exploiting its ability to block t cell proliferation, a fundamental mechanism of hiv persistence. Mathilde krim fellowships in biomedical research in 2024, amfar awarded two mathilde krim fellowships in the amount of $180,000 each to researchers attempting to close critical knowledge gaps in hiv cure research. Dr. Gabriel duette, of the westmead institute for medical research in westmead, australia, is studying how some people are able to control hiv after repeated strategic treatment interruptions by analyzing if these stop-and-start cycles lead to an increase of cd”

“How one cure strategy may lead to another published in lancet hiv and co-authored by members of the amfar-established icistem research consortium, a study sought to examine changes in hiv reservoirs and hiv antibody production over more than eight years of follow-up post-stem cell transplant, currently the only strategy that has successfully cured individuals of hiv. Researchers aimed to define mechanisms contributing to decreases in hiv reservoir size even in those who received a normal donor transplant (without the ccr5 mutation associated with a complete cure) and were not cured. Hiv reservoirs in the blood were markedly reduced immediately after achieving full replacement of patient cells with donor cells post-transplant. This occurred regardless of whether the donor had the ccr5 mutation. This decrease was usually followed by decreases in reservoir hiv in bone marrow, lymph node, spinal fluid, and intestines. Levels of anti-hiv antibodies declined much more slowly. So-called "allogeneic immunity"donor immune cell attack on hiv-infected patient cellsappeared to be the main mechanism for reduction in hiv reservoirs after an initial massive decrease in reservoir size related to the large doses of chemotherapy required just prior to the transplant. Creating a cost-effective cure a canadian group led by amfar grantee dr. Eric arts developed a new type of latency reversing agent (lra) called hlpa dead, hiv-like particle that could activate reservoir t cells, thus making them a target. The concept was explored using cells from individuals on art for two to three years who started treatment during acute hiv infection, or shortly thereafter. As hoped, in the test tube hlp induced almost 100-fold greater latency reversal than existing agents. When tested, hlps proved equally effective in individuals who had started treatment later than those in the initial studies, leading to 100 to 1,000-fold more hiv release than previous lras. The researchers speculated that multiple injections of hlp into muscle, like a vaccination, could also boost anti-hiv immune responses. Hlps that could recognize subtypes of hiv found primarily in the west as well as in africa were designed. The authors concluded that hlp serves as both an lra as well as treatment that can boost hiv-1-specific immune responses, suggesting the possibility of a global, cost-effective cure strategy for the future. The study was published in emerging microbes and infections.”

“Overaccrual of grant expense -296,424. Write off of uncollectible pledges -499.”

“The organization has a committee that is responsible for the oversight of the audit of its financial statements and selection of an independent accountant. The process has not changed from the prior year.”