$2 Million Grant for VaxGen

VaxGen Inc. will receive as much as $2 million in grant money from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases to mine data from its disappointing AIDS vaccine trial. The study will seek clues that might point the way to a successful vaccine, the Brisbane, Calif. company said Tuesday.

Although the company's experimental vaccine, AIDSVAX, delivered no protection to most subjects in a clinical trial involving almost 5,000 subjects, the data released in February showed hints of benefit among the 314 black participants. Minority members and AIDS activists have urged the government to make sure no promising leads are abandoned.

Under the new two-year grant, VaxGen will examine the viral strains that infected the study subjects and determine whether an improved vaccine would be more effective against those strains. The company said it is continuing work on the AIDS vaccine -- once its core mission - only to the extent that it receives outside support from the government or philanthropic foundations. "My sense is that the data they have accumulated could be quite valuable in AIDS vaccine research," said Chris Collins of the AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalition in New York. "I do think it is appropriate that the government is helping the company to mine that data for the maximum impact."

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