Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2009. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
San Francisco Chronicle - Monday, September 28, 2009
The vaccine test reported infection rates were reduced by 31 percent among volunteers protected by a double dose of vaccines compared with others given a placebo.
The number is nothing close to the notion of near-total immunity that goes with most vaccinations. But it's a significant number to AIDS scientists and especially telling since previous vaccine attempts were canceled because of poor results. But so many questions remain that researchers, ecstatic at first, are now cautious.
The trial was aimed at an AIDS strain in Thailand, not a different one in Africa, home to two-thirds of the world's 33 million people living with the virus. Also, the vaccine was tested among a general population of 16,000 participants, not high-risk groups such as prostitutes, gays or needle users.
Additional scientific questions need answers. How did the two-vaccine formula work in mobilizing the body's immune defenses? Are there other factors that played a role in who was and wasn't infected? There are other questions about side-effects and long-term effectiveness.
But there's no denying the promising direction. Until now, vaccine research was a lost cause in the AIDS wars. Experts had predicted a safe, effective shot was decades away, and some scoffed at the worth of the latest vaccine trial when it was started three years ago.
Absent a vaccine, the AIDS fight has become a holding action: drug regimens that contain symptoms and prolong life for those infected while prevention is left to education and condom use. Despite this far-ranging effort, an estimated 7,500 are infected each day. An effective vaccine would be a genuine game-changer.
Of special note is the fact that one of the two vaccines used together in the test was developed by VaxGen, a Brisbane biotechnology firm. The patent for the treatment is now owned by Global Solutions for Infectious Diseases, a nonprofit in South San Francisco. The other vaccine manufacturer is Sanofi Pasteur, a major French drugmaker.
Until now, the chances for a successful anti-AIDS shot were dismal. This bleak landscape is why so many in the AIDS fight took heart at the vaccine test numbers. It's a new beginning for a dreamed-of goal: an effective end to a global curse.
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