Clinical Trials of India-Specific Anti-AIDS Vaccine

[Guest guest]

Clinical Trials of India-Specific Anti-AIDS Vaccine to Start in

2003 " Agence France Presse (04.16.02)

India's National AIDS Control Organization chief, J.V.R.

Prasada Rao, announced last Tuesday that the first phase of

clinical trials for an AIDS vaccine developed specifically for

Indians could start in New Delhi in late 2003. Rao said India had

entered into key partnerships and was on a " path to developing a

low-cost and effective " India-specific AIDS vaccine.

" The Indian vaccine will counter the strain of HIV sub-type

C that is prevalent typically in India, " said Rao. " Developed

countries like the United States are putting their resources into

developing their own vaccines to combat the virus sub-type A

found commonly in their population. So we have to do everything

in our power to win the race against time to come up with our own

indigenous anti-AIDS vaccine, " Rao said.

India announced in March that it had 3.97 million HIV-

positive cases, the largest HIV-positive population after South

Africa. Unofficial estimates put the figure closer to five

million.

Last year, the health ministry and the Indian Council of

Medical Research (ICMR) signed a pact with the US-based

International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) to develop an AIDS

vaccine appropriate for use in India. " Dr. Shekhar Chakraborty of

the ICMR is working with Therion Biologicals in the United States

to develop the construct of the six genes specific to the Indian

AIDS virus, " said Aman Gupta of the IAVI. Dr. Vijay Mehra from

the IAVI added that an " efficacious vaccine could take up to 12

years to develop. "

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