1988 Merck & Co., Inc. (Merck) researchers are the first to demonstrate that the inhibition of the protease enzyme would prevent replication of HIV.

1989 Merck scientists publish the first crystal structure for HIV protease, which led to the development of a new, powerful class of medicines called protease inhibitors.

1990 In the UK, Prime Minister John Major announced that the Government would pay £42 Million compensation to haemophiliacs infected with HIV, and their dependants.

1991 Merck reaches out to HIV community forming first HIV Community Ad board. The Red Ribbon is first used as a symbol of the campaign against HIV and AIDS.

1992 The first clinical trials using combinations of multiple drugs begin; FDA begins accelerated approval of experimental AIDS drugs.

1993 Under the leadership of Dr Daria Hazuda*, research begins at Merck on a new target, integrase, the HIV enzyme responsible for inserting (integrating) viral genes into the DNA of the host cell, effectively turning the host cell into a “factory” for producing more of the HIV virus. * Now Vice President, Scientific Affairs, Infectious Diseases.

A Benetton advertisement (incorrectly) depicts US President Ronald Reagan with Kaposi’s Sarcoma lesions, a common signal of AIDS before Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy (HAART). 1994

1995 Crixivan (indinavir), the first protease inhibitor, speeds through phase II trials and Merck forms its first HIV marketing team.

1996 MSD launches its protease inhibitor Crixivan® (indinavir). Journal of the American Medical Association publishes new recommendations for HIV treatment with a combination of drugs from different classes - HAART (Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy).

Early in 1997 it was reported that, for the first time since the AIDS epidemic became visible in 1981, the number of deaths from AIDS had dropped substantially across the USA. 1997

1998 San Francisco started a pioneering Post Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP) programme giving HIV drugs to people that might have been exposed to HIV through sexual contact or needle sharing.

Merck introduces efavirenz, a non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor in the US and other countries; in the UK it is marketed as ‘Sustiva’ by Bristol-Myers Squibb. It now forms part of a new triple-combination therapy, ‘Atripla’. 1999

2000 Prince Charles visits London Lighthouse, the pioneering, purpose-built, palliative care and support centre for people with HIV and AIDS.

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan launches his call to action, including the creation of a global fund on AIDS and health. 2001

Botswana became the first African country to begin providing antiretroviral treatment through the public sector. Merck is donating its ARV medicines to Botswana’s national ARV treatment programme - known as Masa (“dawn”). 2002

In his State of the Union address on 28th January, US President George Bush proposed spending $15 billion in combating AIDS in Africa and the Caribbean over the next 5 years. He called the scheme ‘a great mission of rescue.’ 2003

Research underway for MK-0518, Merck’s second attempt at inhibiting the integrase enzyme. 2004

Merck grants a royalty-free licence for an investigational compound known as CMPD167 to the International Partnership for Microbicides (IPM) for development, manufacture and distribution as a microbicide for use in developing countries to reduce transmission of HIV to women. 2005

The Gates Foundation - the world’s largest private source of funding for HIV and AIDS - received a substantial boost to its finances in June, when the billionaire Warren Buffet promised to donate $31 billion over ten years. 2006

The Queen shakes hand with HIV positive patients in Uganda. Raltegravir receives fast-track approval from both the FDA and the CHMP. 2007

After 15 years of research and 5 years of clinical trials, Merck launches ‘Isentress’ ®, the first in a new class of antiretroviral drugs called Integrase Inhibitors. This is excellent news for people who are resistant to other HIV drugs. A combination of drugs is used to stop HIV at different stages of the process of entering and destroying the body’s immune cells. If someone becomes resistant to any of their drugs, their treatment needs to be changed, and drugs which work in innovative ways can make a real difference. Roger Pebody, Terrence Higgins Trust 2008