HIV Vaccine Shows Early Signs of Success

Vaccine to Prevent HIV Show Early Signs of Success

Written by: Karen Benardello


Scientists have announced that a vaccine in its early stages has shown signs of potentially being able to prevent the virus, and government leaders have taken part in the effort to determine how to improve it. While it will most likely take years for the vaccine to become widely available if the positive results keep up, both the World Health Organization and the U.N. agency UNAIDS said the announcement has instilled new hope in the science community.

The study tried for the first time ever to prevent HIV the same way they treat it-by using a combination of two different vaccines. During the study, the scientists used the prime-boost approach, meaning the first vaccine helps the immune system attack HIV, and the second one strengthens the response.

The vaccines included in the combination were ALVAC, which is produced by Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccine division of French drugmaker Sanofi-Aventis. ALVAC uses canarypox, a bird virus, to carry synthetic versions of three HIV genes into the body. The combination also includes AIDSVAX, which is now produced by Global Solutions for Infectious Diseases and contains a genetically engineered version of a protein on the virus’ surface.

The Thailand Ministry of Public Health worked with the U.S. Army to conduct the study. The Army has a history of working with the Thai government to develop and test vaccines and medicine to help treat both troops and the general public.

The study used strains most commonly found in Thailand, and scientists are still unsure if the vaccine will help prevent strains from the U.S., Africa and other parts of the world. Researchers in Bangkok announced on Wednesday that the combo cut the risk of becoming infected by more than 31 percent of the study’s 16,000 volunteers.

While the results are not stunning, “it’s the first evidence that we could have a safe and effective preventive vaccine,” said U.S. Army Col. Jerome Kim, a doctor who helped lead the study. Researchers, scientists and the U.S. Army will meet with donors in New York next week to discuss how to accelerate the benefits of the vaccine, Dr. Alan Bernstein, the executive director of the Global HIV Vaccine Enterprise, also said on the subject.

The scientists and government leaders hope the vaccine works at least somewhat, as 7,500 people worldwide are infected with HIV everyday. But as of now, the scientists still have a lot of work to do. They still have to determine how long the vaccine’s protection will last and whether booster shots will be needed.