New Nonprofit Fights HIV Resistance

LONDON -- RDI, Ltd., has been formed as a new independent not-for-profit organizations to lead an international collaboration to combat HIV drug resistance.

The group was created by a global network of scientists who initially formed the HIV Resistance Response Database Initiative.

RDI is currently tracking thousands of HIV-positive patients internationally to create a database. Artificial intelligence is then set to analyze the data, producing information on genetic code vs. a patient's response to specific drugs. The information is set to enhance the ability of physicians when selecting the most effective drug for their patients.

"The establishment of our initiative as an independent, not-for-profit organization is helping us collect the data and secure the support we need to define the link between resistance and treatment response more accurately," says Professor Julio Montaner, a member of the RDI Scientific Core Group and a professor of medicine and chair in AIDS research and the University of British Columbia, Canada. "I would urge institutions and companies to get involved with this important initiative now, at the start," he says. "By contributing data and providing financial support, they can be part of an important global effort to overcome HIV resistance."

For more information, visit: www.hivrdi.org.