Jacques Leibowitch

Jacques Leibowitch (born August 1, 1942) is a French medical doctor and researcher at the immuno-virology department of the hospital Raymond Poincaré. Noted for his clinical work and research on the HIV virus, he was one of the pioneers in its discovery. He was the first to identify HIV as a retrovirus. He is the author of the books “Pour en finir avec le SIDA” and "Un virus étrange venu d'ailleurs".

Education

After qualifying in 1968, Leibowitch did a post-fellowship at Harvard from 1970 to 1972. In 1974, he carried out a post graduate study on Immunology at the Royal Hammersmith Hospital in London.

Research and clinical work on the HIV virus

HIV treatment and research during the 1980s

In 1982, following their diagnosis of the first cases of HIV in France, a group including Jacques Leibowitch and infectologist Willy Rozenbaum create the GFTS, the first French group committed to working on HIV. Leibowitch was the first to propose that the HIV virus could be a retro-virus, a theory that he presented to the Pasteur Institute in Paris. These findings, alongside the work of Willy Rozenbaum on ganglions, laid the terrain for the discovery of the HIV virus in 1983.

In 1983, Leibowitch and a team of researchers employed the Robert Gallos test to detect seropositive cells, leading to the discovery of the HIV virus. The test provided quantitative viral data, thus enabling research teams to measure the anti-viral efficiency of ongoing trials.

In 1984, Leibowitch proposed, with colleagues Odile Picard and Charles Mayaud, that HIV may not be exclusive to the homosexual community and may have its origins in the African continent. His book "Un virus étrange venu d'ailleurs" proposes an investigation into the course of the virus between Zaire, Haiti and Miami.

HIV treatment and research during the 1990s

In the mid-90s, Leibowitch and his team incorporated HIV protease inhibitors (PI) in to the HIV antiretroviral treatment as part of the so-called "Stalingrad" clinical trials. This pioneer usage of this triple combination medication treatment that proved to successfully block HIV viral cell reproduction was presented by a team including Dominique Mathez and Jacques Leibowitch at the 1996 Third Conference at Washington DC on retroviruses and opportunistic infections.

HIV treatment and research 2000 to present day

According to the results of a 3.5 year patient trial (published June 2010 in the FASEB Journal), based on 48 HIV patients Leibowitch and his team proposed that short repeated cycles of intermittent yet effective antiviral treatment would appear to be a credible alternative strategy to current maximal exposures of patients to antiviral drugs. According to the publication of these findings, such an approach would benefit the patient by leading to an increase in absolute and relative CD4 lymphocyte counts, as well as an improvement in general clinical wellness of the patient (many of the current anti-HIV drug combinations are known to alter lipid and glucose metabolism).

Leibowitch published his approach to HIV treatment and control in his book "Pour en finir avec le SIDA" ("To put a end to HIV").

Early HIV screening tests and testimony in infected blood scandal

In 1984, Leibowitch, concerned over current screening methods in France, contacted François Pinon, chief of hematology at the Cochin Hospital of Paris, proposing to run tests on the Cochin hospital blood stocks. Leibowitch’s method was to add blood samples to lab dishes containing HIV-infected cells; an antibody response in the dish meant that the blood being tested contained antibodies to the virus and, thus, that the donor was already infected. Leibowitch and Pinon agreed to run a study on Pinon’s stocks. Leibowitch's tests, completed by December 12 1984, showed that ten of the 2,000 blood samples provided by Pinon tested positive for HIV. Pinon issued a written warning to the doctors at Cochin to cut transfusions to a bare minimum and contacted the Ministry of Health and the CNTS to alert them..

On March 12 1985, the Ministry of Health had received a report from an aide concerning Pinon and Leibowitch’s latest findings. But it wasn’t until May 9, 1985--five months after Pinon had contacted the CNTS with his initial alert--that the then director of the CNTS, Michel Garretta, wrote to the Ministry of Social Affairs, saying that cleaning up the blood supply was an absolute urgency..

In 1991, Doctor Leibowitch testifed in court in the case against, amongst other officials, the former Prime Minister Laurent Fabius concerning the 1984-85 blood contamination scandal. The government of Laurent Fabius was accused of having knowingly allowed doctors to give haemophiliacs transfusions of blood infected by HIV. A judicial process acquitted Fabius of legal and moral responsibility, but his reputation never fully recovered from the scandal..

Media interviews on Leibowitch's clinical approach to treatment of HIV

In a radio interview December 2011 with BFM Business, Leibowitch discussed his system of treatment of HIV positive patients since 2002, involving the so-called "canny short-cycle" treatment, in contrast with the current recommended guidelines in France of 7 day-a-week use of the antiviral drugs.

In an interview May 2013 with the presenter Michel Drucker, Leibowitch discussed his project "Iccarre", a campaign to lower frequency of doses of the tritherapy treatment from the currently recommended 7 days/wk to 1-3 days/wk. Such an approach would allow all doctors to adopt this treatment of their HIV positive patients. Leibowitch confirmed his clinical observation that patients could reduce from 40% to 85% their intake of medication.

In a televised interview June 2013 on France 2 program « On n’est pas couchés » with Laurent Ruquier, Doctor Leibowitch said that an HIV patient correctly treated - i.e. following an anti-viral treatment bringing viral levels down to less than 50 copies per milliliter of plasma - has mucus secretions that do not transmit the virus, and the patient is not infectious. He also stated that one third of HIV sufferers in France are unaware of their infection, adding that "this goes to show that the state of public screening is far from complete. Compared to 10 or 20 years ago, the situation has improved. But we still have to make an effort to assist those vulnerable (to infection).