Both the NIH and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) were and still are actively involved in research and regulation to prevent the spread of HIV and AIDS. In addition to individual antiretroviral drugs, preventive medications, fixed dose combination drugs, and monoclonal antibodies have revolutionized the fight against the AIDS epidemic. In the past 30 years, the FDA has approved 32 antiretroviral drugs, one pharmacokinetic enhancer, and 21 fixed dose combinations to treat HIV/AIDS patients. Thanks to these therapeutic advancements life expectancy for AIDS patients has increased dramatically. Early research began at the NIH in the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). As the HIV pandemic spread and so many systems and organs were involved in HIV/AIDS infections, increased coordination across the NIH campus was needed. The Office of AIDS Research (OAR) was established in1988 for this purpose and it still exists today.
