200 Years of LGBTQIA+ History

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Source Record

The History of FDA's Role in Preventing the Spread of HIV/AIDS

Why this source is used

FDA history exhibit covering the 1987 approval of zidovudine (AZT), ACT UP pressure on drug approval, and later HIV treatment milestones.

Start with the answer

Start with the answer How did HIV/AIDS change public health and activism? HIV/AIDS changed public health by forcing faster surveillance, treatment approval, community-led prevention, visible memorialisation and international awareness. Start with the answer How did HIV blood policy and cure research change LGBTQ+ history? They shifted HIV history from crisis response toward care access, evidence-based blood policy and scientific proof that cure was possible in rare cases. Read the topic guide HIV/AIDS and LGBTQ+ Activism HIV/AIDS shaped LGBTQ+ history through loss, stigma, public health campaigning, community organising, treatment activism, and major advances in prevention and care.

Source Status

Publisher
U.S. Food and Drug Administration
Type
government
Reliability
high
Cited by
8 pages

Source Links

Open original source https://www.fda.gov/about-fda/fda-history-exhibits/history-fdas-role-preventing-spread-hivaids Accessed 2 June 2026 Open archived copy https://web.archive.org/web/*/https://www.fda.gov/about-fda/fda-history-exhibits/history-fdas-role-preventing-spread-hivaids

Used by Topics

HIV/AIDS and LGBTQ+ Activism HIV/AIDS Public Health and Memory HIV Blood Policy and Cure Research

Used by Questions

How did HIV/AIDS change public health and activism? How did HIV blood policy and cure research change LGBTQ+ history?

Used by Timeline Events

12 March 1987 ActivismHealth

ACT UP Founded in New York

Following a speech by playwright Larry Kramer, approximately 300 people gathered at the Lesbian and Gay Community Services Center in New York to form ACT UP (AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power). Their first major demonstration on Wall Street demanded greater access to experimental AIDS drugs. ACT UP's confrontational tactics transformed AIDS activism and influenced protest movements worldwide.
19 March 1987 Health

AZT Approved as First Antiretroviral Drug for HIV/AIDS

The US FDA approved zidovudine (AZT) for use against HIV/AIDS, making it the first antiretroviral drug available. The approval came just 25 months after AZT was first shown to be active against HIV — a record-breaking timeline. While a crucial breakthrough demonstrating HIV could be treated, AZT had significant side effects and limited efficacy when used alone, and was at the time the most expensive drug in history.
16 July 2012 Health

FDA Approves PrEP for HIV Prevention

The US FDA approved Truvada for use as pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) in HIV-negative adults at high risk of infection — the first drug approved specifically for HIV prevention in uninfected individuals. PrEP represented a paradigm shift in HIV prevention, giving people a pharmaceutical tool to protect themselves, and has since been credited with significantly reducing new HIV infections where widely available.