HIV vaccine to be tested in Vancouver

An experimental HIV vaccine is being tested n, and eligible Vanguard participants are invited to n.

Developed by n, a California-based pharmaceutical company, the vaccine is called AIDSVAX, and it's the first HIV vaccine to be tested in a large number of people.

Many other experimental HIV vaccines have been developed, and over the years some of them have been tested in small numbers of human subjects. But this is the first time that permission has been granted to recruit a large number of people into a Phase III clinical trial to test the effectiveness of an HIV vaccine in the real world.

Almost 50 test sites have been established across the United States, and over 5000 participants will be recruited. Vancouver is the first of three planned Canadian test sites, to be followed by Montreal and Toronto, each of which is expected to recruit about 150 participants.

The vaccine is made from artificially created proteins similar to those found in the outer layer of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). These proteins trigger your body's immune system to produce antibodies against HIV. Having these antibodies in your bloodstream may then protect you against getting infected with HIV if you were exposed to it.

There is absolutely no risk of getting HIV from the vaccine itself.

The vaccine could, however, affect your HIV test results. Some people who receive the vaccine develop enough antibodies in their blood to trigger a standard HIV test. Unless the lab testing your blood knew that you had been vaccinated, they could mistakenly tell you that you have an "indeterminate" test result, or that you seem to be in the process of becoming HIV-positive. This could cause problems for people who, for instance, plan to emigrate or join the military. And once the trial is completed some participants will always have to specify that they have been vaccinated when they are being tested for HIV.

To be eligible for this clinical trial, male participants must have engaged in anal sex - either protected or unprotected - at least once in the past year, and they cannot have been in a mutually monogamous relationship for more than a year.

Participating in this clinical trial involves at least 15 visits to a research nurse over the course of three years. All participants will receive a series of seven injections, but only two-thirds of the participants will receive the actual vaccine, and one-third will receive a placebo. The trial is called a "double-blind study," which means that until the trial is completed, neither the researchers nor the participants will know who receives the vaccine and who doesn't.

At the end of three years the study will be "unblinded" and the HIV rates between the two groups will be compared to see if those who received the vaccine were less likely to get HIV than those who hadn't been vaccinated. If the vaccine is found to be sufficiently effective, it may then be made available to the general public.

If you might be interested in participating in this clinical trial, or for more info, call the Vancouver Vaccine Study office at:
(604)659-1140,
or visit one of the following three web sites:

The VaxGen web site;
the VaxGen volunteer site;
or the Vancouver Vaccine Study web site.