AIDS vaccine available within 10 years - researcher
Researchers are optimistic a vaccine for HIV/Aids will be available within 10 years, but it’s unlikely to be fully effective against all strains of the virus, a US health expert said today in Australia.
Margaret Johnston, Associate Director of Aids vaccines at the National Institutes of Health in the United States, said there were dozens of vaccine prototypes under development around the world, with some 9,000 people participating in clinical trials.
‘‘There’s never been more optimism than there is now that an HIV vaccine can be identified,’’ Johnston told delegates to the 6th International Congress on Aids in Asia and the Pacific in Melbourne.
‘‘However, we don’t know what it will look like just yet. We don’t know how it will act. Clinical trials will take a long time and it’s likely the first (vaccines) ... will not be 100% effective,’’ she added.
Some 36 million people around the world are living with HIV, the virus that leads to Aids, according to the United Nations Aids agency, UNAIDS. Since the epidemic began about 20 years ago, Aids has killed almost 22 million people.
Johnston said the most advanced vaccine now being tested is GP-120, developed by the California-based VaxGen biotech company. The product is made from a protein that forms the outer surface of the HIV virus and stimulates antibodies to neutralise or stop the virus from spreading.
Now being tested in Thailand, North America and the Netherlands, results could be available as early as next month. If they are promising, another larger trial over 3 years would be conducted, she said.
‘‘The very soonest we can have a vaccine is maybe four to five years from now and that’s wildly optimistic more likely in the real world (it) will take seven to nine or 10 years,’’ Johnston said.
Johnston said it was anticipated a future vaccine would protect people from contracting HIV/AIDS and, when given to those who already have the virus, prevent its spread.
Production costs and pricing were difficult to estimate she said.
Costs would be increased by the need to license and buy patent rights, while manufacturing costs would depend on the vaccine design, Johnston said.
‘‘For example, a DNA-based vaccine might be mass-produced at a cost of pennies to dollars per dose. But a (more complex) vaccine that requires a more high-tech approach to manufacturing will likely cost tens of dollars if not 100 dollars or more to produce,’’ she added.
Johnston said large organisations, such as the World Bank, should be encouraged to set up a purchase fund for the vaccine as an incentive for drug companies to produce it.
Despite the inevitable production of an HIV/Aids vaccine, it was important that the world community remain aware of other ways to prevent contracting the deadly virus, Johnston said.
‘‘The need for education and reduction in risk-taking behaviours will remain a key component of prevention programs,’’ she said.
