HIV vaccine trial using mRNA technology begins in US

This Phase 1 trial is being conducted in the United States among 56 healthy adults who are HIV negative.

Despite four decades of research, doctors have yet to develop a vaccine to protect people from the virus that causes AIDS, which kills hundreds of thousands of people worldwide each year.

But hopes have been raised by the success of mRNA technology, which allowed the development of COVID-19 vaccines in record time, including one from Moderna.

The vaccine now being tested aims to stimulate the production of a type of antibody called “broadly neutralizing antibodies” or bnAbs, which can act against many types of HIV circulating today. .

The vaccine must teach B lymphocytes, which are part of the immune system, to generate these antibodies.

In this trial, participants are injected with an immunogen — a substance that can trigger an immune response — and then later a booster immunogen.

The delivery of these substances will be done by mRNA technology.

“Inclusion of bNAb is widely considered a goal of HIV vaccination, and it is the first step in that process,” Moderna and IAVI, a research organization, said in a statement.

“More immunogens will be needed to guide the immune system on this path, but this prime-boost combination may be the first key element of a final HIV vaccination regimen,” said David Diemert, a principal at one of the four sites. Where is the investigator? The trial is being done, George Washington University in the US capital.

The immunogens used in this trial were developed by IAVI and the Scripps Research Institute with support from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and Moderna.

The first trial last year tested the first immunogen but without employing mRNA technology. This showed that the desired immune response was triggered in dozens of people who took part in the research.

The next step was to bring Moderna on board with its new mRNA technology.

“With the speed with which mRNA vaccines can be produced, this platform provides a more agile and responsive approach to vaccine design and testing,” the statement from Moderna-IAVI said.

“The search for an HIV vaccine has been long and challenging, and having new tools in terms of immunogens and platforms could be the key to making rapid progress towards an urgently needed, effective HIV vaccine,” said Mark Feinberg, CEO of IAVI.