The nonprofit scientific research organization IAVI and Massachusetts-based Moderna, Inc. recently announced that a Phase I clinical trial of an mRNA HIV vaccine antigen (mRNA-1644) will soon launch at the Center for Family Health Research (CFHR) in Kigali, Rwanda, and The Aurum Institute in Tembisa, South Africa.
The IAVI-sponsored trial, IAVI G003, builds on progress in HIV vaccine research.
Recent findings from the Phase I clinical trial IAVI G001 showed that vaccination with the HIV immunogen eOD-GT8 60mer as a recombinant protein safely induced the targeted immune responses in 97% of recipients (healthy U.S. adults).
The immune response — targeting and expanding a specific class of B cells — is needed to develop broadly neutralizing antibodies (bnAbs).
The induction of bnAbs is widely considered a goal of an efficacious HIV vaccine, and this B-cell activation is the first step in that process.
IAVI G003 is designed to test the hypothesis that vaccination with eOD-GT8 60mer, developed by scientific teams at IAVI and Scripps Research, delivered via Moderna’s mRNA platform, can induce similar immune responses in African populations as was seen for IAVI G001.
“The road to an HIV vaccine has been long and winding. mRNA technology has the potential to accelerate the development of a safe, effective, affordable, and durable HIV vaccine for use throughout the world,” said Mark Feinberg, M.D., Ph.D., president, and CEO of IAVI, in a press statement issued on May 18, 2022.
“IAVI G003 harnesses Moderna’s proven mRNA vaccine technology, a novel HIV vaccine approach developed over many years by IAVI and Scripps Research, and more than two decades of collaboration with scientific centers of excellence in sub-Saharan Africa.”
“Together, we aim to answer critical research questions that can advance HIV vaccine development that increasingly involves leadership by scientists in countries where a vaccine is needed most.”
Additional HIV vaccine news is posted at PrecisionVaccinations.com/HIV.
Source: Precision Vaccinations
