Nevirapine and the Quest to End Pediatric AIDS

In 1999, investigators announced that a single dose of nevirapine, a new antiviral drug, could stop the spread of the AIDS virus from infected mothers to their newborn babies. It was a discovery that “changed the face of AIDS globally” but it came at a high price, after years of scientific research, political conflict, social unrest and the loss of many thousands of lives.
This book is the historical account of pediatric AIDS from the first reported cases in the early 1980s to the first effective treatments in the 1990s and then to the prevention of HIV infections altogether. It also includes the firsthand accounts and experiences of children infected with HIV, their families and the physicians who treated them, as well as the scientists who sought to understand the virus, discovered nevirapine’s unique properties, and worked tirelessly to get it to the patients who needed it.

Writer Rebecca J. Anderson lives in Santa Barbara, California.

Rebecca J. Anderson

Format: softcover (7 x 10)
Pages: 328
Bibliographic Info: 49 photos, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2014
pISBN: 978-0-7864-7780-7
eISBN: 978-1-4766-1384-0
Imprint: McFarland

Acknowledgments vii
Preface 1
Introduction 3
1. Eureka! 13
2. The Second Time Around 24
3. A Star Is Born 37
4. A Cast of Thousands 48
5. In the Spotlight 60
6. The Christmas Tree 66
7. The Journey Begins, Finally 73
8. Patient Pressure Points 83
9. Resistance Is Futile—Or Not 94
10. A Rash Decision 106
11. The Road to Prevention 110
12. The Trifecta 122
13. Supply and Demand: Getting to PICNIC 132
14. Surrogates and Accelerated Approval 139
15. To Peds or Not to Peds 147
16. And the Winner Is… 159
17. Oh, Canada! 165
18. Into Africa 185
19. I Remember Montreal 199
20. The Kids’ Turn 206
21. Justice Delayed 215
22. Am-Bushed 231
23. If Nothing Else… 246
Epilogue 259
Chapter Notes 265
List of Author Interviews 293
Bibliography 295
Index 311

• Finalist—Lambda Literary Award
• Finalist—Finalist,  2015 Next Generation Indie Book Award, Historical Non-Fiction