Clinical trial of HIV vaccine under way

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New Delhi, Feb 7: India on Monday began its first-ever human clinical trial of an investigational vaccine, designed to prevent the HIV/Aids. The vaccine has been jointly developed by the the Indian Council of Medical Research, the National Aids Control Organisation (NACO) and the International Aids Vaccine Initiative (IAVI), an international NGO. The vaccine is called the adeno associated vector borne vaccine.

The vaccine is desinged to target HIV subtype C, the most common strain found in India accounting for over 90 per cent cases

“The vaccine will be tried on thirty four volunteers with the first one being injected today in Pune as part of the phase I clinical trial at the National Aids Research Institute,” health minister Dr Anbumani Ramadoss told reporters at a joint press conference with science and technology minister Kapil Sibal on Monday. Consequent to the phase I, another six months will be required for evaluation.

All regulatory steps and clearances have been adhered to including clearances from the drug controller general of India and the genetic engineering and approval committee (GEAC) of the environment ministry. Clinical trial on a second vaccine called MVA are likely to begin in four to five months in Chennai. “The trial in India is part of a multi-country initiative of the same vaccine candidate. Trials are already on in Germany and belgium and initial results have given excellent safety data,” Kapil Sibal said.

The president of the IAVI praised Indian political commitment towards the initiative as unparalleled compared to elsewhere in the world. India can be a model for the rest of the world,” he said.