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HIV Vaccine Not Likely in Next Decade, UNAIDS Executive Director Says
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UNAIDS Executive Director Peter Piot on Monday said that an HIVvaccine is not likely to be developed within the next 10 years,AFP/Times of India reports. Piot said that "any breakthrough" invaccine development would stem from a "long process of trial anderror," according to AFP/Times of India. Although human trialsof HIV vaccines are currently being conducted in Italy, SouthAfrica and Germany, Piot said he is "not optimistic about thesetrials." The only Phase III human trial of a potential HIVvaccine ended last year, AFP/Times of India reports (AFP/Timesof India, 3/22). VaxGen in November 2003 announced thatlate-stage clinical trials of its AIDS vaccine AIDSVAX failedbecause the vaccine did not affect HIV infection rates amongparticipants. The trial, the first HIV vaccine efficacy trialever held in a developing nation, involved nearly 2,500injection drug users in Thailand (Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report,1/21). Piot said he "applauds" the trials, adding that "they arenecessary because that's how we'll make progress." But he saidthat "for all practical purposes, UNAIDS does not believe therewill be an effective vaccine in the next 10 years." Piot saidthat vaccine development would continue to be slow, even withadded interest from drug makers, according to AFP/Times ofIndia. He added, "Vaccine development is a very empirical typeof science, it's based on trial and error, all scientists wouldsay that" (AFP/Times of India, 3/22).
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