There may be light at the end of the tunnel for HIV/AIDs as Moderna has started human trials for its HIV vaccine. This was announced in a statement by IAVI, the nonprofit scientific research organization, and biotechnology company Moderna. They said recently that the first doses have been administered in a clinical trial of experimental HIV vaccine antigens at George Washington University (GWU) School of Medicine and Health Sciences in Washington, D.C.
“We are tremendously excited to be advancing this new direction in HIV vaccine design with Moderna’s mRNA platform,” said IAVI president and CEO Mark Feinberg in the announcement. “The search for an HIV vaccine has been long and challenging, and having new tools in terms of immunogens and platforms could be the key to making rapid progress toward an urgently needed, effective HIV vaccine.”
The vaccine builds on technology developed by Moderna during their COVID-19 vaccine production, with the goal of using mRNA to boost HIV immunogens and prevent the virus from disabling B cells, which are essential to fighting disease.
Although medicines like PrEP and antiretroviral therapy (ART) have proved somewhat effective in slowing the spread of HIV and reducing its mortality, the virus is still a threat to global health nearly forty years after it was first identified. Scientists hope to conclude human trials next year in 2023.
