HIV Vaccines in the News

Date: January 10, 2008
Title: HIV-1 Broadly Neutralizing Antibody Extracts Its Epitope from a Kinked gp41 Ectodomain Region on the Viral Membrane
Source: Immunity
Summary: Although rarely elicited during natural human infection, the most broadly neutralizing antibodies (BNAbs) against diverse human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-1 strains target the membrane-proximal ectodomain region (MPER) of viral gp41. To gain insight into MPER antigenicity, immunogenicity, and viral function, we studied its structure in the lipid environment by a combination of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR), and surface plasmon resonance (SPR) techniques. The analyses revealed a tilted N-terminal ? helix (aa 664–672) connected via a short hinge to a flat C-terminal helical segment (675–683). This metastable L-shaped structure is immersed in viral membrane and, therefore, less accessible to immune attack. Nonetheless, the 4E10 BNAb extracts buried W672 and F673 after initial encounter with the surface-embedded MPER. The data suggest how BNAbs may perturb tryptophan residue-associated viral fusion involving the mobile N-terminal MPER segment and, given conservation of MPER sequences in HIV-1, HIV-2, and SIV, have important implications for structure-guided vaccine design.

Date: January 6, 2008
Title: HIV Isolate From Kenya Provides Clues For Vaccine Design
Source: Science Daily
Summary: Two simple changes in its outer envelope protein could render the AIDS virus vulnerable to attack by the immune system, according to research from Kenya and the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. The results could provide important clues for designing an effective AIDS vaccine.

Date: December 27, 2007
Title: One Step Forward, Two Steps Back — Will There Ever Be an AIDS Vaccine?
Source: New England Journal of Medicine
Summary: About a quarter-century after the discovery of HIV, there is neither a marketable vaccine nor a credible expectation about when there will be one.

Date: December 18, 2007
Title: A Shot at Stopping AIDS
Source: Washington Post
Summary: Editorial by Seth Berkley, chief executive and president of the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative. Despite some setbacks, there are good reasons to think we can win against AIDS. The failure of one vaccine product does not rule out success on that front.

Date: November 12, 2007
Title: Finding the way again after failed AIDS vaccine
Source: MSNBC
Summary: The vaccine development world is now in a state of stunned shock since the trial that many believed had the greatest chance of success was halted. So what should be done next? Clearly many scientists must carry out as many experiments as possible to understand the STEP results. Dr. Seth Berkley, head of the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative, emphasizes the race to find a vaccine is a “marathon not a sprint” and we should not lose sight of the goal.

Date: November 12, 2007
Title: Fallout from failed AIDS vaccine could dampen research
Source: Forbes
Summary: Experts are concerned that the news of the Step Study will keep would-be trial participants away from future AIDS vaccine studies.

Date: October 25, 2007
Title: AIDS Vaccine May Raise Infection Risk: Researchers
Source: Reuters
Summary: More than 3,000 people who volunteered to receive an experimental Merck and Co. AIDS vaccine are being told to come back and get extra tests because the jab may itself raise the risk of infection. Researchers stress that they do not yet have enough information to say whether those who got the shot indeed are more susceptible to infection with HIV.

Date: October 25, 2007
Title: Warning Is Sent to AIDS Vaccine Volunteers
Source: The Washington Post
Summary: HIV/AIDS researchers in South Africa began warning 801 volunteers who participated in an HIV vaccine trial about a possible increased risk of HIV.

Date: October 6, 2007
Title: Try, try again
Source: The Philadelphia Inquirer
Summary: Lessons learned from the discontinued Step and Phambili trials.

Date: September 28, 2007
Title: Failed HIV vaccine study disappoints local participants
Source: Southern Voice
Summary: Interview with a vaccine trial volunteer in Atlanta. Scott Smith, 39, a volunteer for the vaccine research for just over two years said, "I was bummed. But I knew what the chances were." Smith will continue going to his scheduled appointments for however long researchers want to follow participants to find other useful information in the failed trial. "Every test helps us get closer to a vaccine," he said.

Date: September 22, 2007
Title: Failure of Vaccine Test Is Setback in AIDS Fight
Source: New York Times
Summary: The Step Study was closely watched because experts considered the vaccine one of most promising to be tested on people so far. This was also the first of a new class of H.I.V. vaccine to get this far in clinical trials. The failure of the vaccine raises questions about whether the new approach will work.

Date: September 21, 2007
Title: AVAC voices disappointment in trial result
Source: AVAC
Summary: Executive Director Mitchell Warren of the AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalition comments on the discontinuation of the Step Study.

Date: September 11, 2007
Title: South Africa: Vaccine trial volunteers contributing to AIDS fight
Source: Reuters
Summary: Several volunteers in HVTN's Phambili trial speak about their participation in helping to fight AIDS.

Date: September 6, 2007
Title: Scripps Research scientists shed new light on how antibodies fight HIVs
Source: EurekAlert
Summary: Results from a study looking at how protection against HIV occurs suggest the importance of antibody activity against both infected cells and free virus for effective protection. The study shows that protection against HIV was dependent upon the ability of antibodies to interact with immune cell Fc receptors. Fc receptors are found on the surface of immune cells, such as natural killer cells. The Fc receptor binds to the Fc region of an antibody after an antibody binds to a pathogen, targeting the pathogen for attack by the immune system.

Date: September 6, 2007
Title: HIV/AIDS: Allied responses
Source: Nature
Summary: Scientific journal article cited in story above. The main function of neutralizing antibodies is to block viral entry into host cells. But, for maximal protection against HIV, such antibodies must call upon other elements of the immune system to help with the job.

Date: August 31, 2007
Title: SAfrica HIV vaccine results promising: researchers
Source: Reuters
Summary: Preliminary data from the HVTN 204 trial found that the majority of participants experienced a positive immune response. Gavin Churchyard, the study's principal investigator is interviewed.

Date: August 21, 2007
Title: The good news about AIDS vaccine research
Source: Seattle Times
Summary: Nearly 1,000 scientists from around the world who gathered for the AIDS Vaccine 2007 Conference have a lot to share, much of it good news. Optimism is high for good reason. Collaborative efforts, solidified by creation of the Global HIV/AIDS Vaccine Enterprise seven years ago, are yielding fruit. Thirty-three vaccine candidates are undergoing human trials on every continent.

Date: August 21, 2007
Title: In hunt for HIV vaccine, focus shifts to stopping transmission
Source: Seattle Times
Summary: Some researchers say the most realistic goal now isn't a vaccine to prevent HIV infection, but rather one that prevents HIV from being passed on.

Date: August 21, 2007
Title: Controlling AIDS lies in distant hope of vaccine: Researchers say 20 years of work was misfocused
Source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Summary: Today, more than 20 years after health officials predicted an HIV vaccine was just around the corner, many scientists admit they aren't certain they're even yet on the right street.

Date: August 20, 2007
Title: Julie McElrath on AIDS Vaccine 07
Source: KUOW radio
Summary: A major international AIDS vaccine conference kicks off today in Seattle. The annual event is considered the premier forum to share research on HIV vaccine development.

Date: July 25, 2007
Title: Charlie Rose Science: AIDS (video)
Source: Google Video
Summary: The seventh episode in the Charlie Rose Science series explores the global AIDS epidemic, including a discussion of prevention and treatment possibilities and the role of the world community in fighting the growing pandemic.

Date: July 11, 2007
Title: AIDS by the Numbers
Source: Scienceline
Summary: The effort to produce an AIDS vaccine is gathering steam, and Beryl Koblin of the New York Blood Center is at the forefront.

Date: May 19, 2007
Title: Reporting AIDS: HIV Vaccine Trials (video)
Source: Health Dot
Summary: Steven Chang, site coordinator at the New York City HIV Vaccine Trial Unit, and Legend Riviera, a trial volunteer, speak about HIV vaccines.

Date: May 6, 2007
Title: HIV: the final battle
Source: The Seattle Times
Summary: Dr. Julie McElrath, HVTN Director of Laboratories, discusses the various achievements made in HIV vaccine research, ten years after President Clinton first challenged the scientific community.

Date: Apr 13, 2007
Title: Mice new frontier in HIV study
Source: Dallas Voice
Summary: Dallas researchers make breakthrough in HIV research that could lead to major advances in prevention, treatment of virus.

Date: Mar 28, 2007
Title: Male circumcision prevents AIDS
Source: World Health Organization
Summary: WHO and UNAIDS announce recommendations from expert consultation on male circumcision for HIV prevention.

Date: Feb 8, 2007
Title: KUOW radio interviews Steve Wakefield
Source: KUOW radio
Summary: Black people make up 6.5 percent of the King County population. But Black people account for 22 percent of new HIV cases in King County. Public Health Seattle-King County says that number is unacceptable, and it's getting worse. That's why they hit the streets for National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day.

Date: Dec 27, 2006
Title: Recruiters seeking volunteers to help stop the spread of HIV, Pair visit bars to enlist participants for vaccine trial
Source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Summary: Jarred Lathrop and Patrick Carr visit Seattle bars not to drink or shoot pool. They are recruiting for an HIV vaccine trial.

Date: Dec 8, 2006
Title: HIV and Malaria Epidemics Intertwine in Africa
Source: National Public Radio (audio file)
Summary: Southern Africa has uncontrolled epidemics of two very different infections: HIV and malaria. Many people are infected with both maladies. Researchers studying the illnesses say that dual infection is fueling the spread of both diseases. Dr. Jim Kublin of the HIV/AIDS Network Coordination office is interviewed.

Date: Dec 8, 2006
Title: Dual Infection with HIV and Malaria Fuels the Spread of Both Diseases in Sub-Saharan Africa
Source: Science
Summary: Mounting evidence has revealed pathological interactions between HIV and malaria in dually infected patients, but the public health implications of the interplay have remained unclear.

Date: Nov 20, 2006
Title: UNAIDS and World Health Organization releases new AIDS Epidemic update
Source: UNAIDS
Summary: Available in English, French, Russian, Spanish and German. The annual AIDS epidemic update reports on the latest developments in the global AIDS epidemic. With maps and regional summaries, the 2006 edition provides the most recent estimates of the epidemic’s scope and human toll, explores new trends in the epidemic’s evolution.

Date: Nov 6, 2006
Title: Uganda launches HIV vaccine trials for babies
Source: Johns Hopkins University Gazette
Summary: Scientists at Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda, along with scientists from Johns Hopkins and other institutions worldwide, have begun the first clinical safety trial in Africa of a vaccine to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV through breastfeeding.

Date: Oct 11, 2006
Title: NIAID Announces New Campaign To Raise Awareness Of Preventive HIV Vaccine Research
Source: Webwire
Summary: Young Americans are Challenged to "Be The Generation" that Ends the AIDS Epidemic. The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), one of the National Institutes of Health, today announced the launch of the "Be The Generation" public awareness campaign, challenging young Americans to be the generation that ends AIDS through the discovery of a safe and effective preventive HIV vaccine.

Date: Oct 3, 2006
Title: Four Jamaicans in HIV vaccine trial
Source: Jamaica Gleaner
Summary: The Epidemiology Research and Training Unit (ERTU) in the Ministry of Health has, to date, enrolled four persons for the HIV vaccine trial.

Date: Jul 28, 2006
Title: Special Issue: HIV/AIDS—Latin America & Caribbean
Source: Science
Summary: This special issue of Science magazine features 17 articles that look at the shape of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Latin America and the Caribbean, the overlapping forces that have driven the spread of HIV in the region and the different ways the countries are fighting back. Video presentation and photo essay included.

Date: Jun 20, 2006
Title: How Close is the AIDS vaccine?
Source: KUOW, Puget Sound Public Radio
Summary: KUOW's Marcy Sillman interviews HVTN's Dr. Larry Corey and Dr. Julie McElrath about HIV vaccine research.

Date: Dec 2, 2005
Title: Interview with Dr. Michael Keefer
Source: Gay Alliance
Summary: Gay Alliance interviews HVTN's Dr. Keefer and a vaccine volunteer from Rochester, New York about the Step Study.

Date: Dec 1, 2005
Title: A World without AIDS
Source: MSNBC/Newsweek
Summary: After more than two decades, researchers say they are getting closer to developing an effective HIV/AIDS vaccine. Dr. Larry Corey, principal investigator of the HIV Vaccine Trials Network, is interviewed.

Date: Nov 30, 2005
Title: A World without AIDS
Source: Newsweek
Summary: An interview with Dr. Larry Corey.

Date: Nov 1, 2005
Title: Med trials get attention
Source: Emory Wheel
Summary: Paula Frew, director of communications and community education at the Hope Clinic, said about four trials are currently being conducted at the clinic, which primarily deals with the prevention of HIV. Some participants may be drawn from the Emory student body she said, but most are from the larger community.

Date: Oct 22, 2005
Title: HIV vaccine results are promising
Source: Seattle Times
Summary: An experimental HIV vaccine, which scientists say is the most promising in 20 years, has had such good results recently that researchers are doubling the number of volunteers involved in the trials. Scientists in Seattle and other cities in the international HIV Vaccine Trials Network have found much stronger immune responses than earlier tests showed.

Date: Oct 11, 2005
Title: NIAID Launches First Phase II Trial of a "Global" HIV/AIDS Vaccine
Source: NIH News
Summary: A novel vaccine targeted to multiple HIV subtypes found worldwide has moved into the second phase of clinical testing. The study investigators plan to enroll a total of 480 participants at sites in Africa, North America, South America and the Caribbean to test the safety and immune response to the vaccine.

Date: Sep 23, 2005
Title: Enrollment to double in AIDS vaccine trialg
Source: Kaiser Network
Summary: Researchers conducting clinical trials of an AIDS vaccine made by pharmaceutical company Merck said they plan to double enrollment in the trials to 3,000 participants because results have exceeded their expectations.

Date: Aug 12, 2005
Title: Hedged Bet: An Unusual AIDS Vaccine Trial
Source: Science
Summary: Merck has constructed a vaccine that abandons antibodies altogether, and the company is testing it in the fast-tracked, Phase 2b Step Study.

Date: Aug 8, 2005
Title: Survey Uncovers Surprising Attitudes Towards HIV Vaccine Research
Source: NIH News
Summary: A survey of 3500 U.S. adults finds that a majority are reluctant to support a friend or family member’s participation in an HIV vaccine clinical trial. The survey uncovered some unexpected attitudes and beliefs.

Date: June 28, 2005
Title: Investigational HIV/AIDS vaccine shows promise
Source: News 8 Austin
Summary: The HIV Vaccine Trials Network and Merck & Co., Inc. recently began the second phase of a study using an investigational HIV/AIDS vaccine. Dr. Julie McElrath, the lead scientist in the Seattle arm of the trial, says, "The only way to stop the epidemic is to develop and to implement a safe vaccine. We need it now; we need it yesterday."

Date: June 26, 2005
Title: Black volunteers line up to help find HIV vaccine
Source: The Birmingham News
Summary: The HVTN's Alabama Vaccine Research Clinic in Birmingham is successful in recruiting African-American volunteers into its HIV vaccine trials. Last year half of their participants were black.

Date: June 24, 2005
Title: Experts Say a Global Coordinated Research Effort is Needed for AIDS Vaccine
Source: Voice of America
Summary: HIV/AIDS researchers say they are optimistic that they will develop a vaccine for the deadly disease, although they say it will take at least another ten years.

Date: April 28, 2005
Title: HIV immunity insights aid vaccine research
Source: MyDNA
Summary: New insights by Duke University Medical Center researchers as to how HIV evades the human immune system may offer a new approach for developing HIV vaccines. The findings suggest some HIV vaccines may have failed because they induce a class of antibodies that a patient's own immune system is programmed to destroy.

Date: March 1, 2005
Title: Placebo-Controlled Phase 3 Trial of a Recombinant Glycoprotein 120 Vaccine to Prevent HIV-1 Infection
Source: The Journal of Infectious Diseases
Summary: The "VAX004" study led by VaxGen, a California biopharmaceutical company, was a double-blind, randomized trial of a recombinant HIV-1 envelope glycoprotein subunit vaccine. A total of 5403 volunteers (5095 men and 308 women) were evaluated. There was no overall protective effect. The efficacy trends in subgroups may provide clues for the development of effective immunization approaches.

Date: January 28, 2005
Title: Novel AIDS Vaccine Trial
Source: Science
Summary: HVTN and Merck's AIDS vaccine study in seven countries aims to reduce the time needed to gauge its merit.

Date: January 25, 2005
Title: Merck begins human trials for vaccine to slow Aids
Source: Financial Times
Summary: Merck is beginning critical human trials for a vaccine that could prevent or decelerate HIV/Aids infections. Merck said it has begun enrolling an expected 1,500 volunteers globally to test the vaccine in people with a high risk of contracting HIV. The study is in collaboration with the HIV Vaccine Trials Network.

Date: January 25, 2005
Title: Seattle scientists expand testing of AIDS vaccine
Source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Summary: Seattle scientists plan to launch an innovative, international study of an experimental AIDS vaccine that has shown promise in earlier tests. "We're getting high levels of immune response," said Dr. Larry Corey, head of the HIV Vaccine Trials Network.

Date: January 24, 2005
Title: HIV vaccine is best hope in 20 years
Source: Seattle Times
Summary: An international effort coordinated by Seattle scientists will soon begin testing the most promising AIDS vaccine in more than 20 years of research.

Date: January 18, 2005
Title: The Global HIV Vaccine Enterprise
Source: Public Library of Science (PLOS)
Summary: In June 2003, an international group of scientists proposed the creation of a Global HIV Vaccine Enterprise. The authors invited discussion of this proposal, and challenged scientists to identify new strategies and mechanisms to accelerate the global effort to develop a safe and effective HIV vaccine. This paper describes the processes that led to agreement on the major roadblocks in HIV vaccine development, summarizes current scientific priorities, and describes an initial strategic approach to address those priorities.

Date: January 18, 2005
Title: A Shot in the Arm for AIDS Vaccine Research
Source: Public Library of Science (PLOS)
Summary: The scientific strategic plan of the Global HIV/AIDS Vaccine Enterprise, published in this month's PLoS Medicine, is a clear and cogent document describing how major funders and stakeholders in HIV vaccine development should move forward in a collaborative fashion. There is no doubt that this roadmap will be regarded as a useful instrument to bring greater cohesion and coordination to the field.

Date: December 28, 2004
Title: Israeli vaccine strengthens immunity
Source: News-Medical.Net
Summary: A research team at the Hadassah University Medical Center in Jerusalem has developed a vaccine that significantly strengthens the body’s immune system against the autoimmune sequela of HIV infection.

Date: December 26, 2004
Title: Doctor dispenses hope to HIV/AIDS patients in Haiti
Source: St. Petersburg Times
Summary: Dr. Jean W. Pape is a rare commodity in a country racked by gang violence and political intolerance. The Haitian doctor runs one of the oldest HIV/AIDS research institutes in the world.

Date: November 5, 2004
Title: Seattle tests an HIV vaccine
Source: UW Daily
Summary: A Seattle college student is motivated by humanitarian concerns to become a participant in an HIV vaccine study.

Date: July 16, 2004
Title: Ethical outreach for AIDS research
Source: Center News
Summary: One challenge of conducting vaccine trials is to ensure that study volunteers receive ethical protections mandated by U. S. federal research agencies. A new collaborative venture of HVTN staff and the center’s Institutional Review Office (IRO) promises to help countries with limited resources strengthen their ability to comply with these requirements.

Date: July 16, 2004
Title: 15th International AIDS Conference
Source: Kaiser Network
Summary: Daily coverage of the 15th International AIDS Conference held in Bangkok, Thailand.

Date: June 11, 2004
Title: United Nations welcomes G-8 backing
Source: United Nations News Centre
Summary: Two United Nations agencies welcomed the endorsement by the leaders of the Group of Eight most-industrialized countries of a new international consortium for accelerating the development of an HIV vaccine.

Date: March 31, 2004
Title: HIV Vaccine Trials in San Francisco Attract Cal Volunteers
Source: The Daily Californian
Summary: UC Berkeley students have joined the fight against the AIDS epidemic by participating in HIV vaccine clinical trials in San Francisco. The trials are being conducted by the San Francisco Department of Public Health, in conjunction with the HIV Vaccine Trials Network (HVTN) with the goal of speeding the delivery of an effective HIV vaccine.

Date: March 1, 2004
Title: Columbia University Researchers Advance Quest to Find HIV Vaccine
Source: Columbia Spectator
Summary: Researchers at the College of Physicians and Surgeons, along with scientists across the country working for the HIV Vaccine Trial Network, are in the process of creating vaccines to fight the virus that killed between 2.5 and 3.5 million people in 2003 alone.

Date: January 30, 2004
Title: Seattle Doctors Testing New HIV Vaccines
Source: Komo 4 News
Summary: The Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center starts new trials to find out how safe the vaccines are and how they affect your immune system.

Date: January 16, 2004
Title: Thailand rejects criticism of AIDS vaccine trial for 16,000
Source: USA Today
Summary: Thailand on Friday dismissed criticism by American HIV researchers that a massive test of a possible AIDS vaccine on thousands of healthy Thais would fail, saying the U.S.-funded trial still has hopes of breaking new ground.

Date: January 15, 2004
Title: India targets local HIV strain in test of AIDS vaccine
Source: Nature
Summary: India is gearing up to test an AIDS vaccine targeted at its most prevalent strain of HIV for the first time. Safety trials of the vaccine are expected to begin this summer.

Date: January 5, 2004
Title: HIV vaccine tested for Japanese patients
Source: Medical News Today
Summary: Doctors at the Research Hospital of Tokyo University's Institute of Medical Science have started clinical tests of an anti-HIV vaccine developed exclusively for the treatment of Japanese patients.

Date: November 13, 2003
Title: AIDSVAX has no impact in Thailand
Source: San Francisco Chronicle
Summary: AIDSVAX, VaxGen's experimental AIDS vaccine couldn't block HIV infection among volunteers in Thailand.

Date: June 27, 2003
Title: The Need for a Global Vaccine Enterprise
Source: Science Magazine
Summary: HVTN leaders join key figures in HIV vaccine research to propose a new, collaborative vision of global HIV vaccine development.

Date: June 27, 2003
Title: Gates Foundation panel calls for global blitz to find AIDS vaccine
Source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Summary: A world-class panel of scientists has proposed a massive, multibillion-dollar project to produce an AIDS vaccine.

Date: June 20, 2003
Title: Dedicated doctor to join AIDS vaccine trials
Source: The Star (South Africa)
Summary: For the first time in his life, Dr Reg Broekmann, the head of Soweto's Chris Hani Baragwanath hospital, has volunteered for a pharmaceutical trial. He is HIV-negative, which is a requirement for taking part in the trial.

Date: March 28, 2003
Title: In Hot Pursuit of HIV Vaccine
Source: Puget Sound Business Journal
Summary: This article notes HVTN's leadership role in facilitating the global effort to find an HIV vaccine, and describes the importance of the many other organizations and scientists in the Seattle area.

Date: September 1, 2002
Title: Will there be an AIDS vaccine anytime soon?
Source: Scientific American
Summary: It wasn't supposed to be this hard. When HIV, the virus responsible for AIDS, was first identified in 1984, Margaret M. Heckler, then secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, predicted that a vaccine to protect against the scourge would be available within two years. Would that it had been so straightforward.