USF/TGH site for national study testing HIV vaccine in healthy, uninfected volunteers.(Brief Article)

2002 JUL 24 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The University of South Florida (USF) College of Medicine has begun the human trial for a new experimental HIV vaccine at the Tampa General Hospital (TGH) Clinical Research Center.

The national study, sponsored by Merck & Co., will assess the vaccine's safety and ability to produce immunity in healthy, uninfected adult volunteers. If successful, the small preliminary study would pave the way for a larger study of the vaccine's effectiveness in people at high risk for HIV infection.

"Of all the potential vaccines studied over the last 20 years, this is one of the most promising to move forward as a candidate for prevention of HIV disease," said Jeffrey Nadler, MD, professor of medicine and principal investigator for the HIV vaccine trial in Tampa.

This is the first time that all three components of Merck's HIV vaccine using a prime/boost regimen will be tested in humans.

USF/TGH is one of two research centers in Florida and 16 nationwide involved in the placebo-controlled clinical trial. Merck expects to enroll 126 people nationwide in the 18-month clinical trial, including 10 at TGH.

Traditionally, vaccines, such as the polio vaccine, work by encouraging antibodies to prevent infection. However, most vaccines designed to stimulate production of antibodies against HIV have not worked well because the cryptic virus changes itself slightly to evade attack. Instead of building antibodies, this new HIV vaccine boosts the activity of killer cells in the immune system, called T-lymphocytes, to target and kill the cells containing HIV.

"The ...