Miracle in Germany: Man Becomes Seventh Person Ever Cured of HIV

In a significant medical achievement, a 60-year-old German man has become only the seventh person in the 40-year history of the AIDS epidemic to be completely cured of HIV. The anonymous patient recovered following a stem cell transplant, as announced by doctors on Thursday, July 18.

The man underwent this arduous and risky procedure, which is reserved for individuals with both HIV and acute myeloid leukemia (AML). He received the stem cell transplant in October 2015 and ceased taking his antiretroviral medication in September 2018. Since then, he has remained in viral remission, with multiple ultra-sensitive tests confirming no viable HIV in his body.

Reflecting on his HIV-free status, the man remarked, “A healthy person has many wishes, a sick person only one.”

These findings will be presented at the 25th International AIDS Conference in Munich by Dr. Christian Gaebler, a physician-scientist at Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin. Dr. Gaebler stated, “The longer we see these HIV remissions without any HIV therapy, the more confidence we can get that we’re probably seeing a case where we really have eradicated all competent HIV.” However, he also cautioned that this case, while highly suggestive of an HIV cure, involves a treatment not available to the nearly 40 million people living with the virus worldwide.

The first person to be cured of HIV was Timothy Ray Brown, known as the ‘Berlin Patient.’ Diagnosed in 1995, Brown also had leukemia and underwent a stem cell transplant in 2007. Post-transplant, no HIV was detected in his blood, and he was declared HIV-free in 2008. Brown, however, passed away from cancer in 2020.

In another development, a recent clinical trial in South Africa and Uganda has shown promising results. The study, sponsored by Gilead Sciences, involved a biannual injection of a new pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) drug, Lenacapavir. This trial, which included 5,000 participants at three sites in Uganda and 25 in South Africa, demonstrated that none of the 2,314 women who received Lenacapavir contracted HIV, suggesting 100 percent efficacy.