Researchers launch Phase 1 trial of HIV vaccine
pharmafile | October 18, 2018 | News story | Research and Development | AIDS, HIV, Vaccine, infection, resdearch
Researchers working with the non-profit organisation the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) have announced the launch of a Phase I clinical trial, aiming to test a novel vaccine candidate for HIV.
“The world urgently needs new ways to prevent HIV infection, and chief among these is a vaccine,” said Mark Feinberg, M.D., Ph.D., president and CEO of IAVI. “Fortunately, a new generation of HIV immunogen candidates, including eOD-GT8 60mer, is entering clinical trials. These candidates are being developed using highly sophisticated and elegant vaccine science and provide a precedent for vaccine strategies targeting the induction of specific immune responses believed to be critical in protecting against HIV infection”
The trial, which will take place at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seatlle and George Washington University (GW) in Washington DC, will study the effects of the experimental vaccine on 48 ‘healthy’ adult volunteers who will receive two doses of the vaccine two months apart. The results of the trial will be released by the end of 2019.
David Diemert, who will lead the study at GW commented: “The study will hopefully be a first step in developing a vaccine that will prevent HIV infection. This would be an incredible advance since, to date, there have been no vaccines that have been very effective when tested in clinical trials.”
As of now more than a million people become infected with HIV each year. The experimental vaccine, eOD-GT8 60me, is intended to stimulate the immune system to promote the generation of broadly neutralising antibodies (BNAbs), which it is hoped would confer durable protection against HIV.
Louis Goss
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