Patrick Spencer Cox (March 10, 1968 – December 18, 2012) was an American

HIV/AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...

activist Activism consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived common good. Forms of activism range from mandate build ...

. He was involved in

ACT UP AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP) is an international, grassroots political group working to end the AIDS pandemic. The group works to improve the lives of people with AIDS through direct action, medical research, treatment and advocacy, ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

and the

Treatment Action Group Treatment Action Group (TAG) is a U.S.-based organization that has been prominent within the movement of HIV/AIDS activism. Being formed in 1991, it has possessed the goals of working with worldwide efforts to increase research on treatments for HI ...

during the height of the AIDS Crisis in New York. He helped facilitate the production of protease inhibitors, which revolutionized AIDS care in the 1990s.

Biography

Cox was born in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

. He came out as gay while he was in

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

. He attended

Bennington College Bennington College is a private liberal arts college in Bennington, Vermont, United States. Founded as a women’s college in 1932,

for three years, where he studied theater and literature. He moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

in 1989, to pursue acting. He joined the AIDS activist group

that year and was soon thereafter diagnosed with

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 im ...

. In 1992, Cox joined with other ACT UP members to form the

, which worked to further treatment advances in

. He worked with the

Food and Drug Administration The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a List of United States federal agencies, federal agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is respo ...

's Anti-Viral Advisory Committee to hasten the approval time for new HIV medications, including the new drug class of protease inhibitors. Cox designed a

clinical trial Clinical trials are prospective biomedical or behavioral research studies on human subject research, human participants designed to answer specific questions about biomedical or behavioral interventions, including new treatments (such as novel v ...

to examine the effectiveness of

ritonavir Ritonavir, sold under the brand name Norvir, is an antiretroviral medication used along with other medications to treat HIV/AIDS. This combination treatment is known as highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). Ritonavir is a protease inhi ...

, which led to its approval, which had a dramatic effect on the treatment of HIV. Cox founded the Medius Institute for Gay Men's Health in 2006, concerned with issues faced by gay men, including loneliness, depression and substance abuse. With a lack of funding, Cox abandoned the effort and began using

methamphetamine Methamphetamine (contracted from ) is a potent central nervous system (CNS) stimulant that is mainly used as a recreational drug use, recreational or Performance-enhancing substance, performance-enhancing drug and less commonly as a secon ...

. He moved back to Atlanta to recuperate. He returned to New York in 2012, and appeared in the

documentary film A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

'' How to Survive a Plague''. He also wrote for '' POZ''. Cox died at The Allen Hospital in

Upper Manhattan Upper Manhattan is the northern section of the New York City borough of Manhattan. Its southern boundary has been variously defined, but some of the most common usages are 96th Street, 110th Street (the northern boundary of Central Park), 1 ...

, on December 18, 2012, of AIDS-related causes, after he stopped taking his HIV medications. St. Luke's–Roosevelt Hospital Center (now

Mount Sinai Morningside Mount Sinai Morningside, formerly known as Mount Sinai St. Luke's, is a teaching hospital located in the Morningside Heights, Manhattan, Morningside Heights neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. It is affiliated with the Icahn School of M ...

) renamed their HIV clinic, formerly the Center for Comprehensive Care, the ''Spencer Cox Center for Health'', in June 2013.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cox, Spencer 1968 births 2012 deaths 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American people Activists from Atlanta Activists from New York City AIDS-related deaths in New York (state) American gay actors American health activists American HIV/AIDS activists Bennington College alumni LGBTQ people from Georgia (U.S. state) Members of ACT UP

Biography

See also

References