Introducing the searcHIV China Site

By Zachary C. Rich, Doris Duke Clinical Scholar; Guangzhou, China

Chinese translation

“If Germany can cure one person then China can cure one hundred!” a Chinese friend of mine joked when I explained that I would be working on HIV cure research in Guangzhou, the location of the searcHIV China site. With a collection of headline grabbing achievements (world’s biggest dam, fastest computer, deepest submarine) China has an appetite for attention. These achievements thus far have largely been in construction and infrastructure, but examples in the health sciences are readily available. Minimally trained barefoot doctors set out to provide universal health care to the world’s largest population and inspired the Declaration of Alma-Ata. Mao’s war against schistosomiasis showed how mass mobilization of labor could be effectively used in a resource limited setting. One hundred HIV cured patients may very well be next.

Unique to China is the diversity of cure research being conducted in a single country. As a nominally middle income country, China is investigating both low cost cure strategies, typically performed in developing countries with poor healthcare access (such as Mississippi baby cure research) as well as bone marrow transplant based research that has typically been reserved only for top tier research institutes (such as those involved in the Berlin patient).

Additionally traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) adds another layer to cure research in China. TCM focus more on symptomatic treatment and restoring the body’s own immunity rather then stopping viral replication. Widely supported by both health officials and Chinese society, TCM is integral to HIV care and cure research. As many Western medicine cure efforts are now also focusing on increasing the body’s natural immune function, it will be interesting to see what role TCM plays in China’s cure efforts.

Cognizant of the inherent challenges in cure research, China is charging forth with both groundbreaking basic science research and tantalizing clinical trials. While headlines have yet to materialize, cure research is reaching a critical mass in China that will hopefully move us from proof of concept to clinical reality.