HIV vaccine: ‘Immunity Project’ launches crowdfunding for Phase I clinical trial, but critics persist

A world in dire need of an HIV vaccine; new research indicating the presence of human “controllers” who naturally keep the virus in check; and a veteran anesthesiologist with capital, poise, and the guts to dream big in a field where dreams burn faster than anywhere else. What could go wrong? Dr. Reid Rubsamen, a key physician at John Muir Health and Massachusetts General Hospital who specializes in the minute labor of putting people under during surgery, is the co-founder and CEO of the Immunity Project. In case you haven’t used the internet in past months, the Immunity Project is an ambitious attempt to crowd-source funding for a vaccine for HIV. Once developed, synthesized, quality-checked, and packaged, Rubsamen’s product will ship to nations all over the world, where it will be distributed for free. Let it be perfectly clear: a finished product will put an end to the epidemic that has...