RFTCA AIDS Cure Incubator Envisioned in Former AIDS Ward of St. Vincent's Hospital in New York City
NEW YORK, Dec. 2, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- At a World AIDS Day benefit on December 1(st) in New York City, Research Foundation to Cure AIDS (RFTCA) President Kambiz Shekdar, Ph.D., announced plans to nucleate the nascent organization's AIDS cure incubator at the site of the AIDS ward in the former St. Vincent's Hospital. During the AIDS epidemic, St. Vincent's was the focal point of the AIDS epidemic in New York City and the United States. The site is now a part of the Northwell Health complex, comprising some 20+ medical facilities.
RFTCA is the first charitable 501(c)3 biotechnology venture to obtain a license to use cellular technology (invented by the president and founder Dr. Kambiz Shekdar) to research, develop and commercialize a global cure for AIDS. We're here to show the world that belief in a cure is no far-flung dream. It's the next and final chapter in the story of HIV/AIDS.
In discussions with Northwell Health, including CEO Michael Dowling and Alexander Hellinger, the Executive Director of Northwell's Lenox Health Greenwich Village facility, the possibility arose to find room for the AIDS cure incubator in the Rudin Building, which was, ironically, the location of the AIDS ward of the now condo-consumed St. Vincent's Hospital.
"We stand up against those who claim disease prevention and lifelong symptom management are enough. We've set our sights on St. Vincent's because that's where thousands died hoping for a cure," says RFTCA President Kambiz Shekdar, Ph.D., himself a gay man. In November 2019, Erik Bottcher, Chief of Staff to New York City Council Speaker Corey Johnson, said, "As a longtime activist in the fight against HIV/AIDS, Speaker Johnson would indeed support such research taking place at the Northwell complex." Mr. Johnson is openly gay and HIV-positive. Nationally, Bernie Sanders became the first U.S. presidential candidate to prioritize curing AIDS during a Q&A with RFTCA (see http://westviewnews.org/2019/11/presidential-candidates-pledge-aids-cure/).
Many people living with HIV/AIDS may have heard that two patients have been cured of AIDS, yet it is not widely appreciated that a scalable, global cure is scientifically plausible. This is in part due to conflicts created by hundreds of millions in payments from AIDS drug manufacturers to AIDS service organizations (see http://westviewnews.org/2019/09/wild-west-ad-culture-on-facebook-targets-youth/).
RFTCA stands for those diverse populations who have been affected most by HIV/AIDS and believes that everyone is entitled to live in a world without this disease, to be themselves in whatever way they see fit without conceding to the symptoms or societal stigma of AIDS.
On World AIDS Day, December 1(st), 2019, Research Foundation to Cure AIDS (RFTCA) lit the torch to cure AIDS. For complete coverage, please visit http://westviewnews.org/2019/12/northwell-may-host-lab-to-cure-aids-aids-memorial-may-see-aids-cure/. To support RFTCA's grass-roots cure incubator, go to FreeFromAIDS.org.
ABOUT RFTCA
RFTCA is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization that was founded to develop a cure for AIDS that is accessible and affordable for all. The law firm Morrison & Foerster LLP and advertising agency Havas Health Plus represent RFTCA on a pro bono basis, RFTCA's Board of Directors includes scientists affiliated with The Rockefeller University. RFTCA paid $1.00 for a perpetual worldwide license to cellular biotechnology to research, develop and commercialize a cure for AIDS. The license effectively allows RFTCA to be the first charitable biotechnology venture to cure AIDS worldwide.
PRESS CONTACT
Allison Ceraso
Communications Director
allison.ceraso@rftca.org
(212) 251-8823
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SOURCE Research Foundation to Cure AIDS
