By Milton Bertrand

According to announcement made by Johnson & Johnson (J&J), scientists at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC), Crucell Holland B.V, one of the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson (Janssen), and several other collaborators have published results from a preclinical study of an HIV vaccine regimen used in non-human primates. The research was published online in the journal Science; the new developed vaccine has been reported to have successfully prevented HIV infection in half of the monkeys.

The researchers explain that this vaccine regime works in two phases “Heterologous prime-boost” vaccine regimens. First, it primes the immune system; second, it boosts the immune system to increase the response; it could ultimately prove to be a strategy for protecting against global human immunodeficiency virus (HIV-1) infection. 

The success of the trial has prompted quick action and J&J has already started the international early-stage trial on 400 healthy volunteers in the United States, East Africa, South Africa and Thailand and if all goes well the phase 2b trials would start in the next 18 to 24 months. 

Paul Stoffels, MD, Chief Scientific Officer and Worldwide Chairman, Pharmaceuticals, Johnson & Johnson had to say,” Our ultimate goal is to develop a vaccine that prevents HIV in the first place. By Janssen collaborating with multiple stakeholders on new tools, we hope one day to help eradicate HIV”.

"We are very encouraged by the results of this preclinical HIV vaccine study, and the findings lead to a clear path forward for evaluating this HIV vaccine candidate in humans," said lead author Dan H. Barouch, MD, PhD, Director of the Center for Virology and Vaccine Research at BIDMC and Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School.

It is the first time since Merck’s failed 2007 trial that a major pharmaceutical company has sponsored clinical development of an HIV vaccine.

If warranted, the vaccine will mark a breakthrough achievement as AIDS has consumed 40 million people worldwide in the past 30 years and about 35 million people are still infected with horrific ailment!

Article source: Investigational HIV Vaccine Regimen Shows Encouraging Results in Non-Human Primates--Johnson & Johnson