British pharm company, U.S. scientists to work on cure for AIDS

British pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: GSK) announced Monday it would invest $20 million in an initial five-year plan to work with U.S. scientists toward a cure for AIDS.

The investment is to fund research efforts and establish an HIV Cure center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, plus a new jointly owned company, to study cure options.

Disease researchers are looking to new drugs that boost the immune system to fight off infection. Among the options to be studied is a new strategy created by UNC researchers dubbed the “shock-and-kill” method, which uncovers dormant HIV in white blood cells, making them vulnerable to the body’s defenses.

The news came less than a week after GSK announced it would retain its HIV drug division, Viiv Healthcare, rather than list it on the stock market. According to Fortune, Viiv will work with the new company in an advisory capacity.

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