AEGiS-WSJ: Institute of Human Virology Plans Clinical Trial of AIDS Vaccine

Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2002. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.

Institute of Human Virology Plans Clinical Trial of AIDS Vaccine

Wall Street Journal - March 14, 2002
David P. Hamilton, Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal

The Institute for Human Virology, a center of the University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute, plans to begin a clinical trial of a therapeutic anti-AIDS vaccine developed by a unit of Aventis Co. of France, the first such human test of the treatment in the U.S.

The trial, scheduled to begin later this month, will test a vaccine made from an inactivated HIV protein called Tat that is normally key to the replication of the AIDS virus. The inactive form of the protein, known as Tat toxoid, is designed to stimulate the production of antibodies to the real protein, thereby helping the body mount a more vigorous immune response to HIV.

Many of the rare individuals who appear naturally resistant to HIV have high levels of anti-Tat antibodies, suggesting that such an immune response may play an important role in resistance.

The tests are expected to run five months and will involve 32 individuals with nondetectable levels of HIV, who will receive the vaccine in a series of injections to the shoulder. Participants will remain on antiviral therapy during the trial, which is primarily designed to establish the vaccine's safety and ability to stimulate an appropriate immune response.

The institute also plans a small human test of a new anti-HIV drug from Schering-Plough Corp. of Madison, N.J., called SCH-C. The experimental drug, which has already undergone preliminary human tests, blocks an immune-cell surface protein known as CCR5 that HIV uses as a kind of "handle" as it enters cells to infect them. That test will involve 16 patients, who will take SCH-C twice daily for 10 days. The full study should take 28 days.

The Institute for Human Virology and its director, HIV co-discoverer Robert Gallo, were involved in the basic research underlying both treatments.

Write to David P. Hamilton at david.hamilton@wsj.com

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