India May Begin AIDS Vaccine Trials in Mid-2004

India will likely begin the first phase of clinical trials of an indigenously developed AIDS vaccine by the middle of 2004, the president of the New York-based International AIDS Vaccine Initiative said today. "Globally, vaccines are on trial in many countries including the U.S. and South Africa. Soon they should start in Rwanda and thereafter in India and eventually China," Seth Berkley told reporters. "The real challenge after phase one trials begin in the middle of next year is to move into efficacy trials quickly." The Indian government has been working with IAVI on developing an AIDS vaccine for HIV strain C, the most common sub-type in India. India has about 4.58 million HIV-infected people, and experts say the country could surpass South Africa, which has the highest infection rate worldwide, in absolute numbers in the next few years.

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