Bristol-Myers Squibb scientists have received the 2014 Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) Research and Hope Award for Biopharmaceutical Industry Research excellence. This year’s award program honored outstanding individuals and organizations for their commitment and progress in the field of HIV/AIDS research.

The interdisciplinary team of Bristol-Myers Squibb researchers recognized for the discovery and development of a new HIV treatment are:

• Dennis Grasela, Pharm. D., Ph.D., exploratory clinical and translational research
• George Hanna, M.D., global clinical research
• John Kadow, Ph.D., discovery chemistry
• Mark Krystal, Ph.D., discovery virology
• Nicholas Meanwell, Ph.D., discovery chemistry

The Research and Hope award recognizes the efforts of Bristol-Myers Squibb researchers’ to study the first novel class of HIV-1 treatments since the introduction of integrase inhibitors in the mid-2000s. This class of antiretroviral drug therapy, HIV attachment inhibitors, targets the initial step in HIV-1 infection of a susceptible cell. Attachment inhibitors block the first step of virus infection—the binding of the virus to its receptor (CD4) on the host cells. Bristol-Myers Squibb is pursuing a number of new classes of HIV-1 inhibitors, which may potentially address the future unmet needs of HIV-1 infected patients throughout the spectrum of the disease.

Globally, 34 million people are infected with HIV. In the U.S., at least one in three patients with HIV is prescribed a Bristol-Myers Squibb therapy as the company continues to drive leadership in this area. Over the past two decades, the introduction of drugs for HIV/AIDS has transformed the disease for many from a virtual death sentence to a chronic and more manageable condition. However, efforts to eradicate the disease, as well as to manage resistant disease, remain a critical focus. As patients with HIV live longer, additional treatment options, especially in new drug classes, are still needed.

Bristol-Myers Squibb has worked collaboratively with the HIV/AIDS community to help meet the needs of people living with HIV/AIDS, from developing medicines, supporting disease education efforts and clinical research to improving access to medicines in the developing world.

The PhRMA Research & Hope Award celebrates the science, achievements to date, the possibilities to come and the vital role played by members of the biomedical research communities in addressing unmet medical needs and public health imperatives. Since its inception in 2012, the annual award has recognized advances made across a critical disease or health condition by individuals or organizations in the biopharmaceutical sector, academia/government, and the provider and patient communities.