Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1990. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
San Francisco Chronicle - The Voice of the West, 901 Mission Street, San Francisco, CA 94119 - Wednesday November 28, 1990 Edition: FINAL Section: NEWS Page: B6 Word Count: 382
David Perlman, Chronicle Science Editor
The genetically engineered material mimics one of the important proteins on the outer coat of the virus and was developed by scientists at Genentech, the South San Francisco biotechnology company.
Although earlier tests on chimpanzees, reported in the journal Nature, indicated that the candidate vaccine was effective, company scientists stressed how cautiously they view the trials that started yesterday.
"This study is the beginning of what could be a very long process with an outcome that is uncertain," said Dr. Arthur Amman, Genentech's director of clinical research.
The 10-month pilot study has begun with 55 volunteer patients who are healthy but who have been infected by HIV, the human immunodeficiency virus that causes AIDS.
Known as recombinant gp120, the potential vaccine is being tested at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research in Washington. Researchers there are trying to determine whether the vaccine is safe and whether it can strengthen the response of the immune system to the assault of the virus.
The researchers will analyze the ability of each patient's immune system to produce antibodies to the virus and to generate increased levels of immune system cells.
Heading the trials at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research is Lieutenant Colonel Robert R. Redfield, chief of the department of retroviral research there.
In June, Genentech scientists reported that inoculation with the recombinant vaccine had completely protected two chimpanzees from infection by the human virus. As a result, company officials said yesterday that they are evaluating the possibility of a separate pilot study to see whether the vaccine might protect uninfected individuals against HIV infection.
Such a test would pose significant difficulties. A person given the vaccine, for example, could not be deliberately exposed to the potentially lethal virus.
The concept of boosting the immune systems of virus-infected people is not new. At the University of Southern California, doctors are testing a vaccine developed by Dr. Jonas Salk and made from killed HIV virus particles, and a company called MicroGeneSys in West Haven, Conn., has developed a genetically engineered vaccine that is also undergoing early human trials.
Copyright (c) 1990/San Francisco Chronicle. Reproduced with permission. Reproduction of this article (other than one copy for personal reference) must be cleared through Permissions Coordinator, San Francisco Chronicle, 901 Mission Street, San Francisco, CA 94103. You may also send a fax to (415) 495-3843, or an email message to chronperm@sfgate.com.
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Copyright © 1990 - San Francisco Chronicle Press. All rights reserved. Reproduced with permission. Reproduction of this article (other than one copy for personal reference) must be cleared through the San Francisco Chronicle, Permissions Desk, 901 Mission Street, San Franciso, CA 94103. You may also send a fax to (415) 495-3843, or an email message to chronperm@sfgate.com. http://www.sfgate.com.
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