Trials begin to manufacture a vaccine against HIV, with the same anticovid technology

the american lab Modern announced this Thursday that it administered to human beings the first doses of an HIV vaccine, from the technology of messenger RNA, the same one that the company used to develop its coronavirus vaccine. The American company shared the announcement along with the International HIV Vaccine Initiative.

The so-called phase 1 trial will be carried out in the United States in 56 healthy adults without HIV. The recent successes of the technology of messenger RNA, which has allowed the development of covid-19 vaccines in a Record time have raised hopes.

In spite of four decades of research, scientists have not yet developed an immunizer against this disease that kills hundreds of thousands of people each year.

As announced, the objective of the vaccine being tested is to stimulate the production of a certain type of antibody (bnAb), capable of acting against the numerous circulating variants of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.

The vaccine aims to educate B cells, that are part of our immune system, so that they produce these antibodies. To do this, the essay will test the injection of an initial immunogen, that is, a substance capable of eliciting an immune response, and a booster immunogen injected afterwards. They will be delivered via messenger RNA technology.

“The production of bnAbs is widely considered a target of HIV vaccination, and this is a first step in that process,” the company said in a statement. “Other immunogens will be needed to guide the immune system on the right path, but this combination of a booster and an enhancer could be the first key component of a possible HIV vaccine regimen,” said David Diemert, chief scientist of the trial in one of the four centers where it is carried out, the George Washington University.

The immunogens used were developed by the scientific research organization International HIV Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) and the Scripps Research Institute, with support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the National Institute of Infectious Diseases (NIAD) of the United States, and Modern.

Last year, a first trial, which did not use messenger RNA, but instead tested the first immunogen, showed that the desired immune response was obtained in several dozen participants.

The next step was to collaborate with Moderna.”Given how quickly messenger RNA vaccines can be produced, Moderna platform offers a more flexible approach and receptive when it comes to testing and designing a vaccine,” the statement said. “The search for an HIV vaccine is long and difficult, and having new tools in terms of immunogens and platform could be key to moving forward quickly.” He said Mark Feinberg, director of the IAVI.

With information from AFP

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