Aids Vaccine

This page contains recent news articles, when available, and an overview of Aids Vaccine but does not offer medical advice. You should contact your physician with regard to any health issues or concerns.

Background information on Aids Vaccine

In 1984, after the confirmation of the etiological agent of AIDS by Prof. Robert Gallo, the United States Health and Human Services Secretary Margaret Heckler declared that a vaccine would be available within two years (Associated Press, 1984). However, the classical vaccination approaches that have been successful in the control of various viral diseases by priming the adaptive immunity to recognise the viral envelope proteins have failed in the case of HIV-1, as the epitopes of the viral envelope are too variable. Furthermore, the functionally important epitopes of the gp120 protein are masked by glycosylation, trimerisation and receptor-induced conformational changes making it difficult to block with neutralising antibodies. In February 2003, Vaxgen announced that their AIDSVAX vaccine was a failure in North America as there was not a statistically significant reduction of HIV infection within the study population (Francis et al., 2003). In November 2003, it also failed clinical trials in Thailand for the same reason. These vaccines both targeted gp120 and were specific for the geographical regions (Billich et al., 2001).

There are two key issues that protect HIV from vaccines. Firstly, selective pressure quickly neutralised early promise; the falling off of immune response is called anergy. HIV responds rapidly to these pressures, as is recorded by the HIV Variation Project. Secondly, from human isolates it has been discovered that HIV currently has three groups of clades, M, N and O. Nine clades have been identified in M (A-G) but fewer in the others. The earliest vaccine were based on the LAI clade, which was discovered to be rare in human infections. The second problem with HIV is its attack on the immune system itself which means that, to date, no effective cell-mediated immune response has been determined.

Although there have been more than 50 million infections in Africa since 1981, there have been few vaccine trials in the continent, the most severely afflicted by the pandemic. HIV-1 vaccines need to be developed for testing in Africa, as it is in this context, with the risk of infection being the greatest, that a preventative vaccine can be proved to be effective. The remarkable genetic diversity of HIV-1 strains in Africa is a major hurdle in the development of a broadly effective vaccine (McCutchan, 2000). All known HIV-1 subtypes and an array of intersubtype recombinant viruses, often in complex mosaic forms, are found throughout the continent (Peeters and Sharp, 2000). However, the major HIV-1 subtypes accounting for most infections in Africa are subtype C in southern Africa, subtypes A and D in eastern Africa, and CRF02_AG in west-central Africa (UNAIDS, 2004). Therefore, CTL and antibody responses raised by any vaccine need to be broad enough to cover this variability.

The typical animal model for vaccine research is the monkey, often the macaque. The monkeys can be infected with SIV or the chimeric SHIV for research purposes. However, the well-proven route of trying to induce neutralizing antibodies by vaccination has stalled because of the great difficulty in stimulating antibodies that neutralise heterologous primary HIV isolates (Poignard et al., 1999). Some vaccines based on the virus envelope have protected chimpanzees or macaques from homologous virus challenge (Berman et al., 1990), but in clinical trials, individuals who were immunised with similar constructs became infected after later exposure to HIV-1 (Connor et al., 1998).

The human body can defend itself against HIV, as work with monoclonal antibodies (MAb) has proven. That certain individuals can be asymptomatic for decades after infection is encouraging.

source: Wikipedia

News: Aids Vaccine

Therapeutic DNA-Vaccine Company Inovio Biomedical Appoints Dr ...  -  20 Feb 2008
WELT ONLINE,Wyeth, Vical, University of Southampton, Moffitt Cancer Center, the US Army, National Cancer Institute, and International Aids Vaccine Initiative.

Little hope in finding HIV vaccine, says Aids expert  -  Feb 18, 2008
CareandHealth (press release),In 1986, Dr Baltimore wrote a report saying that an Aids vaccine was at least 10 years away and every year since then he has continued to say that a vaccine

We may never find vaccine for Aids, says Nobel winner  -  Feb 14, 2008
Guardian Unlimited,An Aids vaccine might never be found, claims one of the world's leading experts on the disease. David Baltimore, a Nobel laureate, said the complexity of

Nobel winner despairs of Aids vaccine  -  Feb 17, 2008
The Times,...â€œItâ€™s such a sad topic,â€? he said of the search for an Aids vaccine. â€œWe have been trying to make an HIV vaccine since the day HIV was discovered.

Aids vaccine â€˜no nearerâ€™  -  Feb 14, 2008
Financial Times,By Clive Cookson in Boston The world is no closer to developing an Aids vaccine now than it was when HIV was discovered, despite 25 years of intense

GeoVax Labs, Inc.'s Promising HIV/AIDS Vaccine Trial Data ...  -  Feb 7, 2008
CNNMoney.comBased on the excellent immune response rates and the GeoVax HIV/AIDS vaccine's ability to protect non human primates against AIDS development in

Failure to find AIDS vaccine has researchers seeking new directions  -  Feb 5, 2008
San Francisco Chronicle,In the wake of a trio of AIDS vaccine field trial failures - Merck's STEP trial was only the most recent - National Institute of Allergy and Infectious

AIDS vaccine: Chennai trial results encouraging  -  Jan 23, 2008
Hindu,There appears to be a greater possibility of finding an efficacious AIDS vaccine. The preliminary results of the Phase I trial of the AIDS vaccine

KU Researcher Says HIV Vaccine Will be Developed Through Worldwide ...  -  Feb 15, 2008
Kansas City infoZine,Heather Desaire, an associate professor of chemistry at the University of Kansas and one the foremost scientists in pursuit of an AIDS vaccine,

Experts working on vaccine to fight AIDS in China  -  Jan 21, 2008
Reuters UK,By Tan Ee Lyn HONG KONG (Reuters) - Scientists in Hong Kong and China are working on an AIDS vaccine to protect against three variants of HIV sweeping

No hope for HIV vaccine claims expert  -  Feb 15, 2008
PinkNews.co.uk,In February 2007 the billionaire co-founder of Microsoft Bill Gates and the Canadian government announced funding for the development of an AIDS vaccine.

Merck Aids Failure Signals Doom for African, US HIV Projects  -  Jan 30, 2008
Bloomberg...s experimental AIDS vaccine may put an end to HIV prevention projects by the US and GeoVax Labs Inc. Merck halted a study, called STEP, in September after

CROI: AIDS vaccine: additional infection risk restricted to ...  -  Feb 5, 2008
Aidsmap,The Merck ad5 candidate AIDS vaccine, which appears to have increased the HIV infection risk of some trial participants (see this report), may have done so

Experts: AIDS Vaccine Research Has "Lost Its Way"  -  Feb 5, 2008
Science Magazine (subscription)By Jon Cohen BOSTON--Two prominent researchers have bluntly assessed the depressing state of AIDS vaccine research and have urged the US National Institutes

Dr. Harriet Robinson Joins GeoVax Team as VP of R & D to ...  -  Feb 4, 2008
CNNMoney.comSignificant advances by GeoVax's HIV/AIDS vaccine development program have warranted Dr. Robinson's full time participation. She has been instrumental in

Experimental HIV vaccine gets a boost from â€™70s-era discovery  -  Feb 12, 2008
The Rockefeller University Newswire,By combining an experimental AIDS vaccine with a long-neglected molecule called poly-IC, Rockefeller University scientists discovered that they were able to

AIDS Vaccine Research to Be Reaasessed  -  Feb 6, 2008
MedIndia,Last fall it was reported that some volunteers for a three-shot regimen by Merck might have left some volunteers more susceptible to HIV infection than

Chinese scientists working on new HIV vaccine  -  Jan 22, 2008
China Daily,HONG KONG: Scientists here and on the mainland are working on an AIDS vaccine to protect against three variants of HIV sweeping across southern and western

Full Text  -  Feb 14, 2008
Science Magazine (subscription)NIH devotes nearly one-third of the roughly $600 million it spends annually on AIDS vaccine research to developing and testing products in humans, yet,

NIAID Director Fauci To Convene Meeting Of HIV Vaccine Researchers ...  -  Feb 8, 2008
Medical News Today (press release),Mitchell Warren, executive director of the AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalition, said HIV vaccine research is at a critical point, adding that he does not

Scientists Developing HIV/AIDS Vaccine That Targets Three Virus ...  -  Jan 24, 2008
Medical News Today (press release),Researchers are developing an HIV/AIDS vaccine that targets three strains of the virus spreading through parts of China, Hong Kong and Taiwan,

Chinese scientists developing new HIV vaccine  -  Jan 25, 2008
Newindpress,NEW DELHI: Scientists are developing a new AIDS vaccine with the ability to ward off three variants of HIV sweeping across Hong Kong, Taiwan,

Mandatory vaccine?  -  Jan 23, 2008
St. George Daily Spectrum,With increasing medical technology, a HIV/AIDS vaccine may not be so far down the road. Now is the time to come up with some answers.

AIDS conference ends with promising news  -  Feb 7, 2008
San Francisco Chronicle,...a meeting that has been dominated by discussions of setbacks, such as the failure of a major AIDS vaccine trial that was abruptly ended in September.

Emory Launches Joint Vaccine Center in India with International ...  -  Feb 1, 2008
WebWire (press release),The Emory Vaccine Center was the first university-based center in the United States to develop an HIV/AIDS vaccine candidate being tested in human clinical

South Africa : Aids Focus  -  Jan 22, 2008
News24,The South African Aids Vaccine Initiative (Saavi) began funding the vaccine development project at UCT in 2000, said Anna-Lise Williamson, a joint staff

AIDS researchers look for new vaccine  -  Feb 6, 2008
United Press InternationalBOSTON, Feb. 7 (UPI) -- AIDS researchers meeting in Boston said they are starting basically from scratch in the search for a vaccine to protect against the

Stockwire.com: Speak with other shareholders about: (OTC BB:LITS ...  -  Feb 15, 2008
Insurance News Net (press release),According to a recent report from the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative, "Since an effective preventive AIDS vaccine will primarily have to protect an

Circumcising Men Slows Herpes Spread, May Reduce HIV Risk  -  Feb 3, 2008
BloombergAs many as one-quarter of the world's men have undergone circumcision, according to the AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalition in New York.

Five Named to NIAID Advisory Council  -  Jan 29, 2008
National Institutes of Health (press release)...mechanisms of protection against persistent pathogens, AIDS vaccine development, and the immunopathogenesis of AIDS-causing lentiviruses.

Ugandans Turn to Lizard Blood for Aids Cure  -  Jan 28, 2008
AllAfrica.com,...the medical gamble was a "coping mechanism" by people living with HIV, some of whom are already frustrated by the delayed discovery of Aids vaccine.

Experts Claim HIV Patients Made Non-Infectious  -  Feb 5, 2008
SlashdotUsually whenever an AIDS vaccine is tried in humans, it is given to a population of people at high risk of getting HIV(usually gay men).

Drug doesn't cut HIV risk  -  Feb 5, 2008
Seattle Times,The bad news comes shortly after a major AIDS-vaccine trial, also led by Seattle scientists, was halted when data hinted that the experimental drug may have

Manto dips toe into circumcision debate  -  Feb 8, 2008
Independent Online,...reduced the risk of heterosexual HIV infection in men by at least 60 percent, a discovery at least as effective as the long hoped-for Aids vaccine.

Chase Humanitarian Awards scheduled Saturday  -  Feb 1, 2008
The Desert Sun,...he worked for Genentech Inc. on the development of an HIV vaccine before co-founding VaxGen, which became a leader in developing an AIDS vaccine.

Zeroing In on An HIV Vaccine  -  Feb 6, 2008
Harvard Crimson,Barton F. Haynes, director of the Duke Human Vaccine Institute and the Center for HIV-AIDS Vaccine Immunology, said that the authors of this paper present

Putting AIDS in the spotlight  -  Feb 5, 2008
Idaho Mountain Express and Guide,He also serves as a member of the board of directors of the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative. In the United States, he is a senior advisor to the

Bush Budget Shows Startling Neglect of Domestic AIDS, says AHF  -  Feb 4, 2008
Business Wire (press release),...the President and Congress should also seriously consider reducing or eliminating government funding for AIDS vaccine research and allow private donors

Bacilligen, Inc. Files Patent Applications on BVS Recombinant  -  Jan 30, 2008
Ad-Hoc-News (Pressemitteilung),Bacilligen's AIDS vaccine project is currently funded by an R01 grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases of NIH.

Therapeutic DNA Vaccine Delivery via Inovioâ€™s Electroporation ...  -  Jan 30, 2008
PR Web (press release),Partners include Merck, Wyeth, Vical, University of Southampton, Moffitt Cancer Center, US Army, National Cancer Institute, and International Aids Vaccine

Ugandan President Museveni Says That HIV/AIDS Efforts Should ...  -  Jan 29, 2008
Kaiser network.org,..."Programs like prevention of mother-to-child transmission must be scaled up, and we must support efforts to find an AIDS vaccine," he said (Baguma,

Vaccines get a boost: Global market increases profitability of ...  -  Jan 27, 2008
American Medical News (subscription)Meanwhile, work on an HIV/AIDS vaccine continues. But Dr. Rodewald doesn't expect to see any reach market for several years. "For now, I think there will be

Museveni advises on AIDS fight  -  Jan 25, 2008
New Vision,...â€œProgrammes like prevention of mother to child transmission must be scaled up and we must support efforts to find an AIDS vaccine,â€? he said.

CWRU researchers to announce breakthrough in anti-HIV gel for women  -  Feb 4, 2008
The Plain Dealer - cleveland.com,...millions of dollars to finding products that will work, but like the struggling AIDS vaccine field, an effective microbicide has defied science.

Anglo Chief Says South African Power Cuts Are Not a 'Disaster'  -  Feb 5, 2008
Resource Investor,The company was contributing to the effort of trying to eliminate the disease by contributing to the development of an AIDs vaccine and was also funding

Rule No. 1: Demand Excellence  -  Feb 16, 2008
LiveScience.com,He discussed the disappointments and challenges faced so far by scientists working to come up with an AIDS vaccine. He mentioned his travels to developing

Briefs: Business bureau offering scholarships  -  Jan 27, 2008
Online Athens (subscription),Georgia Bio recognized GeoVax for receiving a $15 million Integrated Preclinical/Clinical AIDS VACCINE Development grant from the National Institutes of

Profectus BioSciences Inc. Names Shawn Patrick O'Brien CEO  -  Jan 28, 2008
Genetic Engineering News (press release),Currently, the Company has five technology platforms and two commercialization partners to progress the development of its AIDS vaccine for human and

BioSante's Gamble Against Generics  -  Jan 29, 2008
Motley FoolIt had a "promising" (ahem) AIDS vaccine and travails with allegedly dishonest former leader Avi Ben-Abraham. The announcement of the start of phase 3

It's not science fiction, it's Western research  -  Jan 26, 2008
London Free Press,Science professor Chil Young Kang, lead researcher in the development of an HIV-AIDS vaccine that is in its clinical trial stage and has been licensed to a

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