NIAID Director Gives AIDS Vaccine Update.(National Institute of Allergy and infectious Diseases)

2001 SEP 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) --

Anthony S. Fauci, MD, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), reviewed recent research progress as well as key challenges in the search for a vaccine against the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) at the AIDS Vaccine 2001 meeting in Philadelphia September 5-8, 2001.

Despite recent progress in treatment and prevention, HIV disease and AIDS continue to exact an enormous toll throughout the world. According to the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), more than 58 million people worldwide have been infected with HIV since the beginning of the pandemic; 22 million of these individuals have died. An estimated 5.3 million people, most of whom live in developing countries, were infected with HIV in the year 2000 alone.

"Historically, vaccines have provided safe, cost-effective and efficient means of preventing illness, disability and death from infectious diseases," says Fauci. "The development of a safe and effective vaccine for HIV infection is a central goal of AIDS research and a necessary tool to bring the HIV epidemic under control."

To speed the pace of HIV vaccine discovery, NIH has increased HIV vaccine research funding more than six-fold since 1990, to an estimated $356.6 million for fiscal year (FY) 2002. NIAID is the lead NIH institute for HIV vaccine research, and accounts for more than 75% of NIH vaccine spending. At NIAID, an estimated $450.7 million will be devoted to all vaccine research in FY 2002, with 61% of that total ($276.5 million) dedicated to HIV vaccine development.

In addition to an extensive portfolio of basic research, NIAID-supported investigators are testing diverse HIV vaccine strategies in animal models and human volunteers. NIAID recently launched the HIV Vaccine Trials Network (HVTN, www.hvtn.org), a global research network that will conduct all phases of clinical HIV vaccine research. FY 2002 funding for the HVTN is an estimated $35.6 million. The HVTN, formerly known as the AIDS Vaccine Evaluation Group, has already provided a wealth of data that contribute to many researchers' optimism that a safe and effective HIV vaccine can be developed. This network will be central to the NIAID's capabilities to perform clinical testing on a variety of candidates in the HIV vaccine "pipeline."

Another important NIAID initiative is the Comprehensive International Program of Clinical Research on AIDS (CIPRA, www.niaid.nih.gov/daids/cipra/). CIPRA, with estimated FY 2002 funding of $15.0 million, will provide long-term support for development of research infrastructure and fundamental laboratory and clinical studies of practical and affordable methods for prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS in international settings, especially in developing regions. These efforts will enhance the ability of host countries to conduct relevant research, to prepare for and participate in large-scale HIV therapeutic, vaccine and prevention clinical trials, and to study diagnostic and treatment interventions in local populations.