First AIDS vaccine for Africa cleared for testing

Human trials for the first AIDS vaccine designed specifically for Africa will begin later this year, it was announced at the 13th International AIDS Conference in Durban on Tuesday. The proposed vaccine is a joint project between the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) and the University of Nairobi in Kenya. IAVI is a global scientific organisation geared to accelerating the development of AIDS vaccines throughout the world. The Medicines Control Agency (MCA) in the United Kingdom had approved phase one testing of the vaccine. "The goal is in site," said Wayne Koff, IAVI's president for research and development. "We are increasingly confident that a protective vaccine will be ready in five year to 10 years. This is the time to move forward with an aggressive and focused research agenda." "This is the first one designed for Africa, and the first one to emerge from our new model of public-private partnership," said Seth Berkley, IAVI's president. The synthetic vaccine is based on the HIV subtype A, the most common strain of the disease found in East Africa. It was developed through research conducted on a group of sex workers in the Kenyan capital Nairobi, who had proved resistant to HIV/AIDS, even though they were repeatedly exposed to the virus. The vaccine is not infectious, and neither is it an AIDS cure, but instead a preventative measure. Professor J.J. Bwayo of the University of Nairobi and chairman of the department of medical microbiology said on Tuesday: "We hope that this vaccine will stimulate the same strong cellular immune response to HIV that we have seen in these women." He added: "Until now, most AIDS vaccines have been made from strains circulating in the north, specifically subtype B. The development of this vaccine begins to address the great need for vaccines designed specifically for Africa." Recruitment for the trials will begin in August in Oxford and will involve an estimated 18 volunteers. "Pending local approval, another trial is expected to follow in Nairobi in three to six months," IAVI said. One of the more prominent volunteers is Evin Harris from the Liberal Democratic Party in Britain, and a Member of Parliament for Oxford. IAVI said that it is expected that there will be at least eight to 10 trials in the next few years to get the vaccine "right". "Our concern is safety and efficacy," IAVI said. Bwayo said the response from the Kenyan government had "so far been positive". He said that one of the main problems that had been encountered so far was in educating the public about the disease. "It has been a long process of explaining to people that this is preventative and that there are risks involved. We have had university students, doctors and civil servants expressing an interest to be part of these trials," he said. IAVI warned that an effective AIDS vaccine had to be developed in the shortest possible time. "There has to be greater focus on the needs of the developing countries, and an infusion of US $900 million to US $1.1 billion in new resources." More information on the IAVI global vaccine initiative can be found at: http://www.iavi.org