A major AIDS vaccine conference isunderway in Paris, and Tuesday researchers took a closer look at the recentThailand vaccine trials.
Theannual event is sponsored by the Global HIV Vaccine Enterprise.
Dr.Seth Berkley, head of IAVI, the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative, says,"In all of the other AIDS conferences there are vaccine sessions, but this is aconference that is just based upon vaccine science."
A few weeks ago, the trials received alot of attention because they showed a two-vaccine combination provided someprotection for humans against HIV, the AIDS virus. But shortly after, a follow-up report saidthat the results might not be as promising as first thought. That stirredcontroversy over the trials.
"Whenthe results were first reported, what they showed was an efficacy rate of 31percent?just over statistical significance," he says.
Berkley says the controversy occurred because"after the data was announced it was learned that there were other analysesthat were not statistically significant. At this conference, all of the data was laid out?and the initialanalysis, which was released, was the most appropriate to look at for outcomesof this trial."
Thevaccine combo provided a "modest effect," he says.
"It'ssignificant because this is the first time that scientifically we've shownprotection in humans. We've alwayssuspected it. We know that humans canmake the right kind of immune responses, but this is the first that we actuallyhave a protection in humans."
"I say modest because the effect was 30percent, which is a relatively low efficacy for a vaccine. You like to see a vaccine to have a publichealth effect a higher efficacy," says Berkley.
The Paris summit is also looking at thelatest research on what's called neutralizing anti-bodies. These are produced by the immune system tofight off bacteria and viruses. IAVIresearchers had published a report on that matter earlier.
"Today(Tuesday) another broadly neutralizing antibody was announced by the vaccineresearch center at NIH (National Institutes of Health)?. What this shows is that the scienceinvestments that have occurred over the last few years are really beginning topay off now," he says.
Scientists,he says, will have "lots of new tools."
Berkleyfounded IAVI 12 years ago in hopes of discovering an AIDS vaccine.
"Wehad really hoped that a vaccine would occur quicker, but we had to run a lot ofdifferent approaches and realized that we had to come back and solve some ofthese basic science challenges, like neutralizing antibodies."
Hesays there's been a Renaissance in AIDS vaccine development.
"In a sense, it's a really, really, excitingtime right now."