Doubling of HIV vaccine spending urged

The International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) has called for a doubling of donor commitments to HIV vaccine research, to at least US $1.2 billion annually, Reuters reported. "The whole system for vaccines is not aligned properly - we have to find better ways to accelerate research, finance research and to create incentives for pharmaceutical companies," IAVI president Seth Berkley said during the recent World Economic Forum annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland. Berkley noted that although the Group of Eight industrialised nations had expressed support for making HIV vaccine research a priority at six different meetings - including the 2005 gathering in Gleneagles, Scotland - implementation of these promises remained an important obligation. IAVI warned that the potential bird flu epidemic was highlighting the problems that resulted from not taking a long-term approach to vaccine development.