Joep Lange
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Joseph Marie Albert "Joep" Lange (; 25 September 1954 – 17 July 2014) was a Dutch clinical researcher specialising in
HIV The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of ''Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the immune ...
therapy. He served as the president of the
International AIDS Society The International AIDS Society (IAS) is the world's largest association of HIV/AIDS professionals, with 11,600 members from over 170 countries , including clinicians, people living with HIV, service providers, policy makers and others. It aims to r ...
from 2002 to 2004. He was a passenger on
Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 (MH17/MAS17) was a scheduled passenger flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur that was shot down by Russian forces on 17 July 2014, while flying over eastern Ukraine. All 283 passengers and 15 crew were killed. Cont ...
, which was shot down on 17 July 2014 over Ukraine.


Early life and education

Lange was born on 25 September 1954 in
Nieuwenhagen Nieuwenhagen is a former village in the Dutch province of Limburg. It is now a part of the municipality of Landgraaf. Nieuwenhagen was a separate municipality until 1982, when it became a part of Landgraaf. Notable natives * Harry Kempen * Joe ...
in the Netherlands. He was a Youth for Understanding foreign exchange student from 1971 to 1972 at Robinson High School in
Tampa, Florida Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and ...
. He later studied medicine at the
University of Amsterdam The University of Amsterdam (abbreviated as UvA, nl, Universiteit van Amsterdam) is a public research university located in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The UvA is one of two large, publicly funded research universities in the city, the other being ...
, receiving his MD in 1981 and his PhD in 1987.


Career

In 2001, he founded the "PharmAccess Foundation", a non-profit organisation based in Amsterdam which aims to improve access to HIV/AIDS therapy in developing countries, and he served as chairman until his death. Lange was a former president of the
International AIDS Society The International AIDS Society (IAS) is the world's largest association of HIV/AIDS professionals, with 11,600 members from over 170 countries , including clinicians, people living with HIV, service providers, policy makers and others. It aims to r ...
(2002–04). Lange was also the Scientific Director of HIV ucation, an online learning system for medical doctors, nurses and counsellors working with HIV-positive people. He was also a founding editor of the
medical journal A medical journal is a peer-reviewed scientific journal that communicates medical information to physicians, other health professionals. Journals that cover many medical specialties are sometimes called general medical journals. History The first ...
, ''
Antiviral Therapy Antiviral drugs are a class of medication used for treating viral infections. Most antivirals target specific viruses, while a broad-spectrum antiviral is effective against a wide range of viruses. Unlike most antibiotics, antiviral drugs do no ...
''. In 2006 he became Professor of Medicine at the
Academic Medical Center An academic medical centre (AMC), variously also known as academic health science centre, academic health science system, or academic health science partnership, is an educational and healthcare institute formed by the grouping of a health profes ...
,
University of Amsterdam The University of Amsterdam (abbreviated as UvA, nl, Universiteit van Amsterdam) is a public research university located in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The UvA is one of two large, publicly funded research universities in the city, the other being ...
and Senior Scientific Advisor to the International Antiviral Therapy Evaluation Centre,
Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...
. He was also co-director of the HIV Netherlands Australia Research Collaboration, based in Thailand. Joep Lange established the Amsterdam Institute for Global Health and Development (AIGHD) in 2009 and uniquely positioned it to fill the gap of the ‘delivery perspective’ which has been largely neglected in academic approaches to global health. AIGHD links disciplines, resources and innovative programs from academic institutions and implementing partners in both the developed and developing world, with the ultimate aim to lead the way to access to high quality health care for all inhabitants of this world. Lange also served on Accordia Global Health Foundation's Scientific Advisory Board. He was a member of several societies including the
American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is an American international non-profit organization with the stated goals of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific respons ...
,
American Society for Microbiology The American Society for Microbiology (ASM), originally the Society of American Bacteriologists, is a professional organization for scientists who study viruses, bacteria, fungi, algae, and protozoa as well as other aspects of microbiology. It ...
, and International AIDS Society. He received the Eijkman Medal for tropical medicine and international health in 2007.


HIV/AIDS prevention

During the mid-1990s, Lange began advocating for the use of
combination therapy Combination therapy or polytherapy is therapy that uses more than one medication or modality. Typically, the term refers to using multiple therapies to treat a ''single'' disease, and often all the therapies are pharmaceutical (although it can also ...
in the
management of HIV/AIDS The management of HIV/AIDS normally includes the use of multiple antiretroviral drugs as a strategy to control HIV infection. There are several classes of antiretroviral agents that act on different stages of the HIV life-cycle. The use of multiple ...
. He argued that it is an "illusion to think that monotherapy with any antiretroviral agent will have a major and lasting impact on this disease" because the development of drug resistance significantly lowers the efficacy of treatment. In 1996, Lange defended the work of controversial HIV/AIDS researcher David Ho, who treated infected patients by having them swallow 20 pills a day as part of a multidrug "cocktail" regimen. Although this experiment was heavily criticised, Lange explained to ''
The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...
'' that "David's work in the past few years has helped to completely transform our understanding of HIV". Lange was also an important advocate for providing affordable AIDS medication to African countries, stating at one point that "(i)f we can get cold Coca-Cola and beer to every remote corner of Africa, it should not be impossible to do the same with drugs". In 2003, Lange completed a study on the children of HIV-positive volunteer mothers in
Rwanda Rwanda (; rw, u Rwanda ), officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of Central Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator ...
and
Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territor ...
. He found that a baby's chance of contracting HIV falls to less than 1% if they receive anti-retroviral drugs while being nursed. The findings of the study were announced by Lange at the 2003
International AIDS Society The International AIDS Society (IAS) is the world's largest association of HIV/AIDS professionals, with 11,600 members from over 170 countries , including clinicians, people living with HIV, service providers, policy makers and others. It aims to r ...
meeting in Paris. During the 10th
Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections The Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI) is an annual scientific meeting devoted to the understanding, prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS and the opportunistic infection An opportunistic infection is an infection cau ...
in
Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
, Lange announced the results of a large multicenter clinical trial with the involvement of 1,216 patients in 17 countries. According to Lange, who served as principal investigator, these findings "clearly demonstrate the comparable efficacy of
nevirapine Nevirapine (NVP), sold under the brand name Viramune among others, is a medication used to treat and prevent HIV/AIDS, specifically HIV-1. It is generally recommended for use with other antiretroviral medications. It may be used to prevent mothe ...
and
efavirenz Efavirenz (EFV), sold under the brand names Sustiva among others, is an antiretroviral medication used to treat and prevent HIV/AIDS. It is generally recommended for use with other antiretrovirals. It may be used for prevention after a needlest ...
in HIV treatment". Two years later, he commented in an editorial for ''
PLOS Medicine ''PLOS Medicine'' (formerly styled ''PLoS Medicine'') is a peer-reviewed weekly medical journal covering the full spectrum of the medical sciences. It began operation on October 19, 2004, as the second journal of the Public Library of Science (PLO ...
'' that activist groups have derailed several
pre-exposure prophylaxis Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is the use of medications to prevent the spread of disease in people who have not yet been exposed to a disease-causing agent, usually a virus. The term typically refers to the use of antiviral drugs as a strate ...
(PREP) clinical trials. He also expressed frustration that activist groups have prevented newer
CCR5 receptor antagonist CCR5 receptor antagonists are a class of small molecules that antagonize the CCR5 receptor. The C-C motif chemokine receptor CCR5 is involved in the process by which HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, enters cells. Hence antagonists of this rec ...
s from being tested in Europe. However, Lange was criticised for neglecting the needs of
sex workers A sex worker is a person who provides sex work, either on a regular or occasional basis. The term is used in reference to those who work in all areas of the sex industry.Oxford English Dictionary, "sex worker" According to one view, sex work is d ...
in the trials, and other researchers asserted that the concerns raised by activists are "entirely legitimate" since the known toxic effects of so-called 'pre-exposure' drugs will lead to liver failure and kidney disease, thereby killing people rather than protecting them. From 2010 to 2012, Lange was a regular participant in the annual
Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estima ...
International Symposium on HIV Medicine, where he argued that PREP is substantially more effective than current methods for HIV prevention.


Death

Lange and his partner Jacqueline van Tongeren were passengers on
Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 (MH17/MAS17) was a scheduled passenger flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur that was shot down by Russian forces on 17 July 2014, while flying over eastern Ukraine. All 283 passengers and 15 crew were killed. Cont ...
, which was shot down near Hrabove, Ukraine, on 17 July 2014. He was en route to
Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
to attend the 20th International AIDS Conference, starting on 20 July. His death was mourned by his peers, with the IAS stating that they had "truly lost a giant", while conference delegates interviewed by the media were described as being in "total shock".


Legacy

On 15 July 2015, the Joep Lange Institute and the Joep Lange Chair and Fellows program was announced. The institute is meant to continue the unique combination of scientific research, pragmatism and action that characterised Joep Lange. The first funding, consisting of $20 million from private sources in the United States, has been confirmed. The Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs will support the Joep Lange Chair. To mark the announcement of the institute, former US President Bill Clinton has shared a video message in which he honours Joep Lange's work and emphasises the importance of carrying forward his legacy. Operations will start in late 2015.


References


External links


Biography
at The Body
PharmAccess FoundationHIVeDucationAIGHDThe Joep Lange Institute
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lange, Joep 1954 births 2014 deaths HIV/AIDS researchers Dutch people murdered abroad Dutch tropical physicians People from Landgraaf University of Amsterdam faculty Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 victims University of Amsterdam alumni