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HIV Vaccine Ready For Clinical Trials

Posted by Zonk on from the go-science-go-science dept.

amigoro writes with the happy news that a possible vaccine against HIV is nearing readiness for clinical trials. The compound could provide a 'double whammy' by not only inoculating the patient against future infection, but destroying an HIV infection in progress. "The vaccine is an artificial virus-like particle whose outer casing consists of the TBI (T- and B cell epitopes containing immunogen) protein constructed by the researchers combined with the polyglucin protein. This protein contains nine components stimulating different cells of the immune system: both the ones that produce antibodies and the ones that devour the newcomer."

4 of 385 comments (clear)

  1. You can participate in the clinical trials now! by Spyrus · · Score: 5, Informative

    http://vrc.nih.gov/clintrials/clinstudies.htm These are ongoing safety trials at the National Institutes of Health.

  2. Not the first... by Short+Circuit · · Score: 5, Informative

    According to Wikipedia, there are 17 candidates in phase I trials, four in phase I/II, and one in phase III.

    That same article mentions that there is a great degree of diversity in HIV, meaning one HIV vaccine won't protect against all strains.

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  3. Pessimistic about this... by Guppy · · Score: 5, Informative

    As someone who has actually worked on an HIV vaccine (a plasmid-based DNA vaccine), I have to caution that the field is a graveyard of failed attempts, ranging from traditional vaccine methods a century old, to exotic cutting-edge variants. There is considerable skepticism that an HIV vaccine (even given a very elastic definition of "vaccine") is even possible, in part based on the apparently complete absence of any "natural" sterilizing immunity. At best, there exists a small population of non-progressors who are able to hold the virus at stalemate due to genetic variations in certain receptors, a mechanism that seems unhelpful as far as vaccines goes (although relevant to drugs, specifically entry-inhibitors).

    While VLPs (virus-like particles) are certainly a promising vaccine technology (the cervical cancer vaccine that's been in the news recently is VLP-based), I really am pessimistic that it is the solution to the substantial problems that any working HIV vaccine would have to overcome. At this point, I don't think anything will work short of somehow granting a patient's immune system innate resistance to HIV through some kind of gene therapy approach (there actually are people working on this sort of approach, but gene therapy as a whole has a long way to go).

  4. The temporal continum has burped by Whuffo · · Score: 5, Informative
    This article would have been timely (but no more accurate) a couple of years ago. The vaccine showed great promise, but the clinical trials were a flop. The drug was written off; the company lost a bundle.

    Mumble mumble making a vaccine for a polymorphic virus mumble - wish I hadn't bought that company's stock...