New Vaccine Shows Protection in Monkeys

Dan Barouch and colleagues reported in the journal Science on July 17th that an adenovirus-based HIV vaccine demonstrated complete protection in 50% of vaccinated animals against a series of repeated, heterologous, intrarectal SIV challenges that infected all controls. Protective efficacy correlated with the functionality of Env-specific antibody responses. Comparable protection was also observed with a similar Ad/Env vaccine against repeated, heterologous, intrarectal SHIV-SF162P3 challenges. Clinical trials of these vaccine candidates are ongoing, in collaboration with Johnson and Johnson, the U.S. Military HIV Research Program, the International AIDS Vaccine Institute, and the U.S. National Institutes of Health.