Thailand researchers are reporting that a new HIV vacccine may be effective preventing new infections. The results come from a field trial sponsored by the U.S. Army. Among the 16,000 participants, 30 percent reported positivel effects after treatment.
Specifically, a combination of ALVAC, made by Paris- based Sanofi-Aventis SA, and AIDSVAX, produced by VaxGen Inc., of South San Francisco, reduced infections by 31.2 percent in the people who received it compared with those on a placebo.
"What is exciting is that this has provided a proof of concept, that we can do this," Cate Hankins, chief scientific officer at UNAIDS, told Bloomberg News. "Anything is possible now, it feels. It is a scientific breakthrough," Hankins said by phone from London.
While the news is incredible, the vaccine isn't likely to be licensed for general medical use in the near future. Still this is very promising.
Specifically, a combination of ALVAC, made by Paris- based Sanofi-Aventis SA, and AIDSVAX, produced by VaxGen Inc., of South San Francisco, reduced infections by 31.2 percent in the people who received it compared with those on a placebo.
"What is exciting is that this has provided a proof of concept, that we can do this," Cate Hankins, chief scientific officer at UNAIDS, told Bloomberg News. "Anything is possible now, it feels. It is a scientific breakthrough," Hankins said by phone from London.
While the news is incredible, the vaccine isn't likely to be licensed for general medical use in the near future. Still this is very promising.
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