Cox was born in
Atlanta,
Georgia. He
came out as
gay while he was in
high school. He attended
Bennington College for three years, where he studied theater and literature. He moved to
New York City in 1989, to pursue acting. He joined the AIDS activist group
ACT UP that year and was soon thereafter diagnosed with
HIV. In 1992, Cox joined with other ACT UP members to form the
Treatment Action Group, which worked to further treatment advances in
HIV. He worked with the
Food and Drug Administration'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 to examine the effectiveness of
ritonavir, 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. ==See also==