Trials under way for HIV vaccine
A team of scientists are carrying out what they claim is the first clinical trial of an injectable vaccine for the HIV virus which causes AIDS.
The team comprising scientists from Imperial College, Hull York Medical School, Medical Research Council Clinical Trial Unit and Infectious Disease Research Institute is evaluating whether the vaccine is safe to be tested on human volunteers.
The vaccine contains trimeric HIV envelope protein (gp140) which can target the virus’ most virulent strain, Clade C, that has caused the greatest number of HIV infections across the globe, accounting for almost half of the 34 million people infected with HIV.
The trial, which is funded by the Wellcome Trust and goes by the name MUCOVAC2, is evaluating a vaccine that contains the HIV trimeric (gp140) protein CN54, representative of Clade C strains of the virus.
This clade is the most prevalent virus in Sub-Saharan Africa. The trimeric protein represents the major target for antibodies on the viral surface.
The vaccine candidate will be formulated with an adjuvant — GLA — developed to enhance immune responsiveness following intramuscular injection. GLA formulations have been previously tested clinically with promising results.
The scientists have enrolled 36 healthy, HIV-negative women aged 18-45 years at St George’s University of London and the HYMS Experimental Medicine Unit at York Hospital.
The trial will evaluate vaccine’s safety and determine the quality and magnitude of induced immune responses. The research is expected to take less than a year to complete with results available early 2013.
“Globally, women comprise half of the 34 million people living with HIV. In Sub-Saharan Africa, women represent nearly 60 percent of adults with the virus.
“Our collaboration marks an important juncture for the field as we begin to assess which routes of immunisation may provide the best responses to protect women,” said Prof Robin Shattock of Imperial College, who leads the consortium which developed the MUCOVAC2 trial.
