HIV vaccine results 'surprisingly good'
An HIV vaccine undergoing trials at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden has provided 'surprisingly good' results, with more than 90 per cent of subjects developing an immune response in phase 1 trials. 'Never has such a good result been seen with a vaccine of this type,' said Professor Eric Sandström, Chief Physician at Karolinska University Hospital. The tests, at the hospital and the Swedish Institute for Infectious Disease Control, could pave the way for a workable vaccine, which could dramatically reduce the impact of the disease within a generation. The 'genetic' vaccine uses parts of the HIV genetic code to prime the body, generating an immune response which could be effective against the real HIV virus. Subjects were given the vaccine via novel delivery techniques - the 'Bioject' needle-free delivery system. Subjects were given three doses of the 'genetic' vaccine and then a fourth dose, for which parts of the HIV vaccine were spliced onto a traditional cowpox vaccine. 'Our vaccine is designed in such a way that it's able to protect against many of the circulating HIV types in Africa and the West,' said Professor Britta Wahren, also from the Karolinska Institute. Phase 2 of the trials will begin in Tanzania in autumn 2006. They will not only test the Swedish results, but also train local specialists in administering the vaccine and conducting lab research. Details of the work, a collaboration between researchers in Sweden (who covered the phase one trials), the US (who supplied the vaccines and delivery device), and Tanzania (where the phase 2 trials will start), were released on 30 August during the AIDS/HIV vaccine conference in Amsterdam. The Gates foundation recently revealed that it would give USD 287 million (€225 million) to HIV vaccine research to speed up the search for a viable vaccine.
Countries
Sweden, Tanzania, United States