The only HIV vaccine currently under testing, developed by Johnson & Johnson (J&J), has been discontinued after advanced trials showed that it was ineffective against the disease.
The announcement that J&J made on Wednesday regarding the status of the vaccine's late-stage trials is another disappointment in the medical field. In the last few decades, there have been dozens of HIV vaccine candidates that were tested and subsequently discarded.
HIV Vaccine Trial Discontinued
The latest discontinuation sets progress back for a vaccine against HIV by roughly three to five years, experts said. However, there are still several options in early-stage trials that could turn out to be effective in providing protection against HIV.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, who led the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases until December of last year, said that while the news was disappointing, it is not the end of efforts toward developing a vaccine against HIV.
During an interview, Fauci added that there are also other strategic approaches to fighting against HIV. This includes a study called PrEPVacc conducted in Eastern and Southern Africa, as per Yahoo News.
The study evaluates a combination of experimental HIV vaccines and preventive drugs. Scientists have also made advancements in developing potent antibodies capable of neutralizing the virus. Furthermore, they are testing new vaccine technologies, including mRNA, against the disease.
However, the loss of a vaccine candidate in its late-stage trials underscores the difficulties of designing a vaccine for this particular virus that is considered wily. Roughly four decades after it was first discovered, HIV still infects about 1.5 million people every year and results in the death of about 650,000 people.
Residents who live in wealthier nations do not see HIV as the death sentence that it previously was considered. There are now powerful drugs that can suppress the virus in infected individuals. Many options are available for preventing infection, including oral pills and shots.
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Fighting Against the Disease
However, such medications are required to be taken by the patient for the rest of their lives and are often inaccessible to people who need them the most. According to the New York Times, a vaccine is considered the ideal way of winning against the virus.
Fauci noted that the ultimate prevention modality for any infection on Earth, particularly viral infection, is a vaccine found to be safe and effective. He added that it was the reason why the medical field is still going to continue active research in that area.
The trial, which is now ending, is known as Mosaico and began in 2019 being led by Janssen Pharmaceuticals, which is a part of J&J. It included the testing of 3,900 cisgender men and transgender individuals who have sex with cisgender men and transgender individuals.
The trial administered two different types of a shot that uses a cold-causing virus to deliver the genetic code of HIV. It was spread over four vaccination visits per year and utilized similar technology that J&J used to develop its COVID-19 vaccine, said Reuters.
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