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Exciting milestone as human vaccine trials start
Lynne Altenroxel. 31 July 2003.The Star. Republished courtesy of Independent Newspapers (Pty) Ltd.
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Human trials for the world's first HIV/AIDS vaccine based on Southern Africa's predominant HIV strain have finally started.
The first person to receive the vaccine in a joint SA-US study was injected in the US on Tuesday night (South African time).
This means that, if all goes well, the South African arm of the study will probably start within the next two months.
It will be the country's first human HIV/AIDS vaccine trial and will test a candidate widely regarded as one of the most promising in the world. More than 20 vaccines are already being tested on humans or are poised to enter trials.
Peter Young, president and CEO of AlphaVax, the company which developed the vaccine, said: "The initiation of clinical trials with our technology marks a very exciting milestone, not just for those working on HIV vaccines but for the entire vaccine field."
To ensure safety, scientists have designed the vaccine using only small portions of HIV, instead of the whole virus.
The AlphaVax vaccine is particularly promising because it targets dendritic cells, which are central to the body's immune response.
The trial was initially meant to be started simultaneously in South Africa and the US, but concern about perceptions that the industrialised world was abusing people in the Third World for human testing led to a suggestion that Americans should receive the first shots. |
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