Respite for six months

Therapeutic HIV vaccine with Oxford technology: test results

Lilia Ten, Life4me+

Scientists presented the results of phase I/IIa clinical trials of a T-cell therapeutic vaccine against HIV. The study showed that the drug controlled the virus without antiretroviral therapy (ART) for 6 months.

The vaccine was developed by AELIX Therapeutics in cooperation with the University of Oxford. The tests were conducted in partnership with Gilead Sciences. The work was published in the journal Nature Medicine (Bailón et al., Safety, immunogenicity and effect on viral rebound of HTI vaccines in early treated HIV-1 infection: a randomized, placebo-controlled phase 1 trial).  

How the vaccine works

The therapeutic vaccine enhances the immune response in such a way that the body can then independently control the infection for a long time without taking ARV therapy. The AELIX vaccine uses the HTI immunogen, which redirects the cellular immune response to those areas of HIV that are associated with virus control.

HTI is delivered using a combination of a DNA vector, a vector of the modified Ankara cowpox virus (MVA) and the monkey adenovirus vector ChAdOx1 (the latter two drugs were developed in Oxford).

"The result of the study once again confirms that active immunization against HIV is possible. It slows down the replication of the virus, providing a period of "vacation" in treatment for people living with HIV, and eventually leads to a complete cure. T-cell vaccines will play an important role in the functional treatment of HIV and possibly other complex diseases," said Professor Tomasz Hanke of the Jenner Institute, the main author of the study.

Study

Participants received several doses of the vaccine, after which ARV therapy was stopped with weekly monitoring of viral load. The observation of the patients lasted for 6 months.

A total of 41 volunteers took part in the test. 26 people received the vaccine, 15 received a placebo. 8 patients who received the vaccine were eventually able to refuse ART. As the researchers note, they "did not have protective genotypes." In the placebo group, almost all but one of the participants had to resume therapy.

A second clinical trial of the vaccine as part of a combination treatment is currently underway, also in collaboration with Gilead Sciences.

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