Terry Ragon, the billionaire founder of software company InterSystems, is determined to achieve what major governments and institutions have been unable to do—cure HIV. Ragon, who is worth an estimated $3.1 billion, has pledged $400 million to fund the Ragon Institute, a research center in Cambridge, Massachusetts, dedicated to finding a cure for HIV by harnessing the immune system. He likens his initiative to a “Manhattan Project for HIV,” reflecting the scale of ambition in the fight against the virus, which affects an estimated 39 million people worldwide.
Ragon’s belief in a cure is bold, given that pharmaceutical giants like Johnson & Johnson have spent decades and vast resources without success. Despite investing $500 million in HIV research, including a vaccine trial based on Ragon Institute’s research, Johnson & Johnson ended its last major trial in 2023 after it failed to move past Phase 3 clinical trials. Globally, governments and organizations have spent around $17 billion on HIV vaccine research over the past 20 years, yet a cure remains elusive. Still, Ragon remains undeterred, believing that most experiments must fail before a breakthrough can occur. He focuses on funding risky, early-stage research that others may deem too uncertain to back.
The need for an HIV cure is undeniable. While wealthy nations have largely controlled the virus with expensive antiretroviral drugs, HIV and AIDS killed approximately 630,000 people in 2022, predominantly in sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia. In the United States, there are 1.2 million people living with HIV, and the lifetime cost of treating each person is estimated at $420,000. Curing the disease could not only save lives but also have substantial economic benefits, especially in lower-income countries.
Ragon’s approach at the Ragon Institute involves creating collaborations among scientists from diverse fields, including doctors, physicists, engineers, and mathematicians. The institute’s goal is to reprogram the human immune system to combat HIV, which could pave the way for breakthroughs in treating other diseases like tuberculosis, malaria, and even cancer. According to Ragon, the future of HIV research lies in the cross-disciplinary collaboration that he’s spearheading.
The foundation of Ragon’s career is rooted in his experience with failure. After earning a degree in physics from MIT in 1972, Ragon pursued a career as a musician in London but failed to find success. Back in Boston and in search of work, he landed a job at Meditech, an early player in electronic medical records, where he was introduced to the MUMPS programming language. This marked the beginning of his foray into healthcare technology. In 1978, Ragon founded Interpretive Data Services, later renamed InterSystems, which grew slowly but steadily. By 2023, the company had surpassed $1 billion in annual revenue, supplying database software for electronic health records to major organizations like the Department of Veterans Affairs and Epic Systems.
Ragon’s journey into HIV research began in 2007 when he visited a hospital in South Africa with infectious disease researcher Bruce Walker. Ragon witnessed firsthand the devastating impact of HIV on a young woman, prompting him to take action. The visit led to a long-term collaboration with Walker, who now directs the Ragon Institute. Walker’s research focuses on “elite controllers,” a rare group of people whose immune systems can suppress HIV naturally. These individuals provide hope for developing a functional cure by replicating the immune response of these elite controllers.
Researchers at the Ragon Institute aim to create a vaccine that can mimic the response of elite controllers. The vaccine targets amino acids critical to the structure of the virus, hoping to prompt the body’s immune system to destroy HIV in infected patients. Phase 1 clinical trials of this T-cell-based vaccine are expected to begin in 2025, in partnership with organizations such as the Gates Foundation, the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative, and the Italian drug developer ReiThera.
The challenge is monumental, and even Walker admits the possibility of failure. Yet, the persistence of Ragon and his team reflects their commitment to what could be a revolutionary scientific breakthrough. The importance of such a breakthrough extends far beyond HIV, with the potential to transform the treatment of other diseases. As Ragon draws inspiration from philosopher Thomas Kuhn’s theory of paradigm shifts in science, he remains optimistic that HIV’s long-standing mystery will soon be unlocked. Ragon is confident that an HIV cure will emerge within his lifetime.
Despite the risks, Ragon’s methodical approach mirrors the success of his software business, built on a foundation of patience and long-term vision. He sees scientific discovery in much the same way—while progress may be slow, it is inevitable with enough determination. As Ragon reflects on the journey ahead, he firmly believes that his institute’s unique approach will lead to the development of a cure, ushering in a new era in the battle against HIV.
