Pharmaceutical giant Moderna, working with the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) nonprofit, have begun human trials of their experimental HIV vaccine last week, beginning the first phase of clinical trials.
“We are tremendously excited to be advancing this new direction in HIV vaccine design with Moderna’s mRNA platform,” said IAVI CEO Mark Feinberg in a statement.
“The search for an HIV vaccine has been long and challenging, and having new tools in terms of immunogens and platforms could be the key to making rapid progress toward an urgently needed, effective HIV vaccine.”
mRNA technology works by teaching human cells to create specific proteins that cause immune responses in the body.
The goal of the trial is to induce a specific type of white blood cells called B-cells and help them to create antibodies known to neutralise HIV variants.
After doses have been administered, researchers will monitor the study’s participants for safety and efficacy of the jab and its booster doses.
Although HIV has no known cure, there is currently an oral treatment which suppresses the patient’s viral load, reducing the amount of HIV in the blood to prevent the virus from being transmitted.