Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation pledges USD287 million to HIV research

To date around 65 million people have been infected with HIV, and AIDS has killed more than 25 million people since it was first recognised in 1981, with three million dying each year. Sub-Saharan Africa remains the most affected region in the world, accounting for two thirds of all people living with HIV. While many different potential vaccines have been trialed over the years since the virus was first identified, scientists have struggled to develop an effective vaccine. This is because the HIV virus is able to mutate into different forms, thereby sidestepping antibodies raised by vaccines, to attack the immune system.

"An HIV vaccine is our best long-term hope for controlling the global AIDS epidemic, but it has proven to be a tremendously difficult scientific challenge," said Dr. Josй Esparza, senior advisor on HIV vaccines for the Gates Foundation. "We have all been frustrated by the slow pace of progress in HIV vaccine development, yet breakthroughs are achievable if we aggressively pursue scientific leads and work together in new ways."

The newly announced funding will go to support 11 vaccine discovery consortia, which will design vaccine candidates capable of eliciting effective neutralising antibodies to HIV. Research will also seek to improve current vaccine candidates so that they elicit stronger and more durable protective cellular immune responses.

In parallel to this, five central facilities will be established, including three laboratory networks for measuring the immune responses of vaccine candidates, a research specimen repository, and a data and statistical management centre. As a condition for receiving funding, the newly-funded vaccine discovery consortia have agreed to use the central facilities to test vaccine candidates, share information with other investigators, and compare results using standardised benchmarks. The aim here is to avoid fragmented research efforts.

In addition, the consortia will develop global access plans to help ensure that their discoveries will be accessible and affordable for developing countries.

"These projects bring a new level of creativity and intensity to bear on major scientific challenges facing HIV vaccine development," said Dr Nicholas Hellmann, acting director of the Gates Foundation's HIV, TB, and Reproductive Health programme. "Some of the vaccine concepts that will be pursued have been talked about for years, but have never been adequately studied. If successful, they could lead to entirely new paradigms for HIV vaccine development."

For further information, please visit:
http://www.gatesfoundation.org/default.htm