Moderna announced last week that it began conducting phase one clinical trials for an HIV vaccine. Just like the COVID-19 vaccine developed by the company, Moderna also uses mRNA technology to make an HIV vaccine.
Partnering with the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI), this trial is expected to be able to carry HIV-specific antigens into the body and trigger an immune or immune response. Launching Pop Science, the researchers will follow 56 HIV-negative adults for six months. 48 volunteers will receive at least one dose of the primary vaccine, 32 of whom will also receive a booster. The remaining eight will receive the booster vaccine only.
The first volunteers were recently vaccinated at the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences in Washington, D.C.
How does the HIV vaccine developed by Moderna work?
With mRNA-based vaccines, mRNA strands enter human cells and test the human immune system. This will give immune cells important information to deal with the virus. This process worked very well against SARS-CoV-2, so there is hope that it may also protect against HIV.
"We are very excited for this new direction in the design of HIV vaccines with the Moderna mRNA platform," Mark Feinberg, president and CEO of IAVI, said in a statement.
"The search for an HIV vaccine has been long and challenging, and having new immunogen tools and platforms could be key to making rapid progress towards a much-needed and effective HIV vaccine."
Has there been a previous HIV vaccine?
Researchers have actually been looking for a vaccine for a long time to protect themselves from HIV. Various HIV treatments and treatments are growing, but finding a vaccine is not easy.
The virus integrates itself into the human genome within 72 hours of transmission, resulting in an irreversible infection. Many previous attempts to create a vaccine had made it to the clinical trial phase, but then failed because the vaccine did not produce high enough protective antibodies