Stoffels said the HIV vaccine trial in monkeys was designed to test the limits of the vaccine, exposing the animals to high levels of an aggressive virus that attacks non-human primates known as simian immunodeficiency virus, a close cousin to HIV. Even though there has been a decline in the rate of AIDS-related deaths, it is crucial to find a vaccine that remains a key in ending this epidemic. She says “Based on epidemiological data, we estimate that the risk of a person to become infected per exposure is about 100-fold lower”, noting that they hope the vaccine will, indeed, work better in humans than in the primates they have tested. The researchers also drew blood from the infected ones and gave it to new monkeys for proving themselves, and they were proven right.
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An experimental vaccine completely prevented HIV infection in half of monkeys given the jab, a new study found.
The results were astonishing: about half of the monkeys were protected from the virus, and now Johnson & Johnson is stepping in to begin a trial in 400 healthy volunteers spread out in Thailand, the United States, and East and South Africa.
A vaccine regimen that first primes the immune system and then boosts it to increase the response could protect against human immunodeficiency virus (HIV-1) infection, scientists have found.
The results were so positive they spurred Johnson & Johnson to test the vaccine in people.
In the experiment, the researchers used a vaccine consisting of two parts: a cold-causing virus smuggling three HIV proteins into the body and pushing the immune system to generate antibodies, and a purified HIV protein booster to enhance the body’s response. Of the 8 that received a placebo, none turned out to be HIV-free.
Moreover, National institute of Allergy and infectious Diseases director of the Vaccine Research Program Dr.Mary Marovich said, “It’s an exciting finding”. The new vaccine could prevent HIV infection in millions of people around the world, and researchers are eager to continue trials testing the vaccine’s effectiveness.
Scientists have been studying and working on an AIDS vaccine for over 30 years and have spend millions of dollars into the effort. “Those that have have mostly failed”.
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The company developing the new AIDS vaccine is Janssen.
