Phase I of clinical HIV vaccine trial successful

[Pythagorean]

note: Phase I is just safety testing, not efficacy. Still exciting, though!

Sumagen Canada Inc and Western University announced today that the Phase I Clinical Trial (SAV CT 01) of the first and only preventative HIV vaccine based on a genetically modified killed whole virus (SAV001-H) has been successfully completed with no adverse effects in all patients. Antibody production was also boosted after vaccination.

http://communications.uwo.ca/media/...i_clinical_trial_of_sumagen_aids_vaccine.html

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

This is great news!

 

[Monique]

Let's just call it HIV vaccine, AIDS is the final stage of HIV infection.
How do they deal with the many strains of HIV and mutation frequency?

 

[Ryan_m_b]

Let's just call it HIV vaccine, AIDS is the final stage of HIV infection.

Fixed.

 

[Pythagorean]

Let's just call it HIV vaccine, AIDS is the final stage of HIV infection.
How do they deal with the many strains of HIV and mutation frequency?

Not sure, I haven't read it. The molecular biology would probably be over my head.

 

[Monique]

People are already stating that this is a medical breakthrough, while clearly a phase II study must still be conduced to show that the vaccine is effective.

I mean, there is a vaccine against the influenza virus, but it doesn't mean that no-one gets the flu anymore. Even people who are vaccinated can get sick.

 

[Pythagorean]

I mean, there is a vaccine against the influenza virus, but it doesn't mean that no-one gets the flu anymore. Even people who are vaccinated can get sick.

Is any vaccine 100% effective? I don't think that's the expectation.

Anyway, this isn't the first HIV vaccine developed. I don't know what ever happened to the MVA-B vaccine that supposedly had a 90% success rate (and only at reducing HIV to a minor infection, not curing it) in initial trials.

http://www.foxnews.com/health/2011/09/29/new-vaccine-could-turn-hiv-into-minor-infection/

 

[Monique]

Is any vaccine 100% effective? I don't think that's the expectation.

The press release states "Sumagen anticipates not only having the first HIV vaccine in market but also the eradication of HIV/AIDS for human beings."

Anyway, this isn't the first HIV vaccine developed. I don't know what ever happened to the MVA-B vaccine that supposedly had a 90% success rate (and only at reducing HIV to a minor infection, not curing it) in initial trials.

90% sounds surprisingly good, do you have a source for that?

 

[Borek]

I believe it is here: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21865377

 

[Pythagorean]

Just the press release I linked. There's another one that references the Journal of Virology, but it's in spanish. And there's a Gizmodo article that references the Spanish press release:

http://gizmodo.com/5844706/this-90-successful-vaccine-may-be-our-best-chance-to-eradicate-aids

Happy hunting!

 

[Pythagorean]

I believe it is here: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21865377

That's it. Esteban, 2011

 

[Monique]

I believe it is here: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21865377

Ok so the 90% success rate is based on a positive T-cell response, that indeed is not surprising.

However, my question is about effectiveness of the vaccine for a person. Take the influenza vaccine as an example, it must also raise a good T-cell response, but only reduces the risk of a person to develop the flu by ~60% (since many strains of the virus exist). I wonder if HIV would be comparable.

 

[Pythagorean]

I wonder, how would you test efficacy anyway? You can't infect people with HIV intentionally and it's not going to cure people that already have it. So do you just dose up a high-risk population with the vaccine and wait and see if average number are lower ten years later or something?

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

Another promising HIV vaccine from Oregon Health and Science University
http://www.gizmag.com/hiv-aids-vaccine-ohsu/29042/

A very promising vaccine candidate for HIV/AIDS has shown the ability to completely clear the simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV), a very aggressive form of HIV that leads to AIDS in monkeys. Developed at the Vaccine and Gene Therapy Institute at the Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU), the vaccine proved successful in about fifty percent of the subjects tested and could lead to a human vaccine preventing the onset of HIV/AIDS and even cure patients currently on anti-retroviral drugs.

 

[Curious3141]

I wonder, how would you test efficacy anyway? You can't infect people with HIV intentionally and it's not going to cure people that already have it. So do you just dose up a high-risk population with the vaccine and wait and see if average number are lower ten years later or something?

Basically, yes. Although you don't necessarily have to wait ten years to get useful data out of it. A lot of these studies are done in Africa where high risk populations are studied. It's an ethical minefield, honestly.