Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1999. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
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Wall Street Journal, July 13, 1999
In a press release Tuesday, the company said the trial, known as AVEG 202/HIVNET 014, involved 435 healthy men and women not infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, but with a high risk of exposure to the virus.
The company said the vaccines used induced immune responses in the majority of vaccinated patients.
The trial was designed to assess the safety and capability of a combination of two vaccine preparations, including vector vCP205, a recombinant virus developed by Pasteur Merieux Connaught, as well as a blend of recombinant HIV surface proteins made by Chiron Corp. (CHIR).
The company said the vCP205 virus, which holds no risk for humans, penetrates the cells of the vaccinated patient and activates immune cell production, while the proteins activate HIV neutralizing antibodies.
Patients received four doses of either both vaccines, one vaccine and a placebo or two placebos.
More than half of the patients who received vCP205 alone and more than 90% of those who received the vaccine combination developed antibodies to HIV.
Pasteur Merieux Connaught said about one-third of the patients in the study have developed a CTL, or Cytotoxic Lymphocytes, response, meaning the production of cytotoxic T-cells that can kill HIV.
A company spokesman said many scientists believe that in order to be effective, an HIV vaccine must activate two types of immune response, the CTL and certain neutralizing antibodies that stop HIV from entering cells.
The spokesman said the current Phase II trial demonstrated both responses in patients.
The trial is being carried out in 14 medical centers in the U.S.
Pasteur Merieux Connaught said the vaccine has been shown to be safe, with no serious side effects reported.
The company said the results of the Phase II trial confirm results already obtained in the Phase I stage and encourage the company to consider a larger efficacy trial.
Pasteur Merieux Connaught is also studying other approaches to HIV vaccination, including the use of lipopeptides and naked DNA.
-Emily Park; 201-938-5400
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WJ990702
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