The Campbell Foundation
Helping Make HIV/AIDS History Since 1995
The Campbell Foundation Awards $100,000 Grant to Fred Hutch for Gene Therapy to Eliminate Long-Term HIV Treatment
FORT LAUDERDALE, FL – April 7, 2025 – Excited about the prospects of creating a long-term HIV treatment, The Campbell Foundation’s Board of Directors team recently approved a $100,000 grant to Anne-Sophie Kuhlmann, senior staff scientist in the laboratory of Dr. Hans-Peter Kiem, holder of the Stephanus Family Endowed Chair for Cell and Gene Therapy, at Fred Hutch Cancer Center in Seattle, Wash.
Although injection of anti-HIV antibodies has shown encouraging results in clinical trials, there has been limited efficiency because they do not have a lasting effect on the virus. Dr. Kuhlmann is developing a gene therapy that would modify the immune system’s B cells to sustainably produce highly potent antibodies against HIV. If successful, it could control the infection without the need for lifelong antiretroviral therapy.
“We plan to develop and evaluate therapeutic viral vectors called ‘engineered virus-like particles’ to specifically target and edit B cells inside the body,” says Kuhlmann.
Vectors are designed to deliver genetic material directly into a cell. The idea is to create a one-shot treatment, which would be easier to administer to people.
“This approach would not only broaden access to treatment to all people living with HIV-1, including in low- and middle-income countries, but would also accelerate the development of B cell therapies for infectious diseases and other chronic diseases requiring repeated injections of proteins,” she said.
Several members of The Campbell Foundation’s Peer Review Board were impressed with the scope of the research. “The premise for this application is highly relevant for
the HIV therapy and ‘cure’ fields,” said one reviewer who voted in favor of funding. Another stated “It is a proof-of-concept project that will pave the way for a bigger goal, not only in the HIV field.”
“This year, The Campbell Foundation celebrates its 30th Anniversary. It has been in the spirit of our founder, the late Richard Campbell Zahn, that we continue to strive to find a cure for HIV/AIDS,” said Executive Director Ken Rapkin.
About The Campbell Foundation
The Campbell Foundation was established in 1995 by the late Richard Campbell Zahn as a private, independent, nonprofit foundation dedicated to supporting clinical, laboratory-based research into the prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS. It focuses its funding on supporting alternative, nontraditional avenues of research. As The Campbell Foundation celebrates its 30th year, it has given away more than $12.5 million dollars, with more than $1.5 million going to direct services.