South Africa Begins First Phase II Trial for HIV Vaccine Targeting Subtype C

The International AIDS Vaccine Initiative and Seattle-based Targeted Genetics on Monday announced plans to launch the first Phase II trial in South Africa to test a new HIV vaccine candidate, Reuters reports (Reuters, 11/14). The trial will test the safety and efficacy of a vaccine, called tgAAC09, that targets HIV subtype C, which is the most common strain of HIV in Southern and Eastern Africa, the SAPA/Citizen reports. According to IAVI, the trial is expected to last 18 months and will enroll 78 HIV-negative men and women. The vaccine is made to elicit two different types of immune responses, an antibody response and a cell-mediated response, to fight off HIV. The vaccine cannot cause HIV infection. The trial will be conducted at the Perinatal HIV Research Unit of the Chris Hani-Baragwanath Hospital in Soweto, the Desmond Tutu Institute for HIV Research at the University of Cape Town and at the Medunsa Campus of the University of Limpopo. The vaccine already has been tested in Phase I trials in Belgium, Germany and India. IAVI said it hopes to receive regulatory approval to test the vaccine in Zambia and Uganda (SAPA/Citizen, 11/15).

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