A phase I trial into a novel HIV vaccine has begun in the UK.
Led by the University of Oxford, the HIV-CORE 0052 trial will evaluate HIVconsvX, a mosaic vaccine that targets a broad range of HIV-1 variants.
It is hoped it could be used to treat HIV strains in any geographical region.
The trial, which is being carried out as part of the European Aids Vaccine Initiative (EAVI2020), has recruited 13 healthy, HIV-negative adults, all aged between 18 and 65 and who are not considered to be at high risk of infection.
They will initially receive one dose of the vaccine and this will be followed by a booster dose at four weeks.
Lead researcher Professor Tomáš Hanke, professor of vaccine immunology at the Jenner Institute, University of Oxford, said: “An effective HIV vaccine has been elusive for 40 years. This trial is the first in a series of evaluations of this novel vaccine strategy in both HIV-negative individuals for prevention and in people living with HIV for cure.”
Most HIV vaccine candidates work by inducing antibodies generated by B-cells, but HIVconsvX works by inducing the immune system’s potent, pathogen-obliterating T cells and targeting them to highly conserved and vulnerable regions of HIV.
Chief investigator Dr Paola Cicconi, senior clinical research fellow at the Jenner Institute, said: “Achieving protection against HIV is extremely challenging and it is important that we harness the protective potential of both the antibody and T cell arms of the immune system.”
Prof Hanke added: “There is strong evidence that undetectable HIV viral load prevents sexual transmission. Nevertheless, the pace of decline in new HIV infections failed to reach the Fast-Track Target agreed upon by the United Nations General Assembly in 2016: fewer than 500,000 new infections per year in 2020.
“Even in the broader context of increasing antiretroviral treatment and prevention, an HIV-1 vaccine remains the best solution and likely a key component to any strategy ending the AIDS epidemic.”
The researchers hope to report results of the HIV-CORE 0052 trial by April 2022 and there are also plans to start similar trials in Europe, Africa and the USA.
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