AEGiS-WSJ: AIDS Scientist Calls for Basic Tack

Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2008. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.

AIDS Scientist Calls for Basic Tack

Wall Street Journal - March 26, 2008
Marilyn Chase, marilyn.chase@wsj.com

The top AIDS scientist at the National Institutes of Health called for a shift back to basic vaccine research to address unanswered questions in the wake of the failure of a major AIDS vaccine trial last year.

Addressing an AIDS Vaccine Summit in Bethesda, Md., Anthony S. Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases rejected calls to suspend vaccine funding in favor of other testing, treatment and prevention strategies.

After a string of disappointments climaxed by the surprising failure of a leading vaccine candidate by Merck & Co. last fall, Dr. Fauci said Tuesday that it is time to adjust the balance between spending on clinical and basic research back toward fundamental discoveries about the immune system, animal models and innovative vaccine concepts.

NIH's annual AIDS research budget of nearly $3 billion, half of which funds AIDS research at Dr. Fauci's institute, has been flat for the past five years. With inflation, this has meant a loss of 3% purchasing power a year, Dr. Fauci said. With big increases unlikely, the shift back to basics may require moving some resources from the clinic to the lab for now.

"I'm going to keep fighting like crazy for new money," Dr. Fauci said, "and if we can't get it, will work to torque the balance" back to basics.

"The fact is that an HIV vaccine in 2008 eludes our grasp," said Warner Greene, director of the Gladstone Institute of Virology and Immunology, affiliated with the University of California at San Francisco. Researchers do not know what it will take for a vaccine to prevent HIV infection.

But Dr. Fauci rejected a recent call by a Los Angeles-based group called AIDS Healthcare Foundation to redirect vaccine funding into testing and treatment. That stirred consternation in the AIDS community, especially in Africa, where the bulk of the pandemic's 33 million victims live and where "AIDS is not an abstract thing," said vaccine researcher Glenda Gray of the University of Witwatersrand, South Africa. "Any call to halt vaccine funding is like abandoning Africa."

"Tell your colleagues under no circumstances will we discontinue AIDS vaccine research, Dr. Fauci vowed. "We will not cut it."

080326
WJ080308

AEGiS is a 501(c)3, not-for-profit, tax-exempt, educational corporation. AEGiS is made possible through unrestricted funding from Boehringer Ingelheim, Bridgestone/Firestone Charitable Trust, Elton John AIDS Foundation UK, the National Library of Medicine, AIDS Walk of Orange County, and donations from users like you.

Always watch for outdated information. This article first appeared in 2008. This material is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between you and your doctor.

AEGiS presents published material, reprinted with permission and neither endorses nor opposes any material. All information contained on this website, including information relating to health conditions, products, and treatments, is for informational purposes only. It is often presented in summary or aggregate form. It is not meant to be a substitute for the advice provided by your own physician or other medical professionals. Always discuss treatment options with a doctor who specializes in treating HIV.

Copyright ©1980, 2008. AEGiS. All materials appearing on AEGiS are protected by copyright as a collective work or compilation under U.S. copyright and other laws and are the property of AEGiS, or the party credited as the provider of the content. .