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Constituted using messenger RNA technology, the first vaccine against HIV developed by the Moderna laboratory has just been injected into a very first patient. A hope for the scientific world which has been looking for an effective therapeutic solution to eradicate this virus for 40 years.
After the vaccines against Covid-19, the Moderna laboratory is continuing its momentum. It has just developed a messenger RNA vaccine against HIV, the AIDS virus. In the early stages of the clinical trial, a very first patient has just received the first injection. However, the definitive vaccine should not be marketed for ten years.
Animal testing first
Clinical trials began with animals in 2021. The researchers first tested their vaccine on mice and then on monkeys. For a year, macaques received several doses. The scientists then noted the appearance of antibodies to the 58and week. From the 60and week, the monkeys received the virus adapted to their species.
Results: two macaques did not contract the virus at all, while five others had it but had taken eight weeks to develop the disease, compared to three without a vaccine.
A difficult vaccine to develop
Even if it is not perfect, this vaccine gives hope to scientists because the risk of contracting HIV fell by 79% in seven macaques who received the messenger RNA vaccine against HIV. The authors of the study therefore believe that it has “a significant impact on viral transmission”.
Improvements will have to be made to this vaccine candidate, because the levels of antibodies produced were not very high. But the phase 1 therapeutic trials have however been launched and are planned until the end of 2023. They concern 56 people aged 18 to 55, not infected with HIV and in good health.
A turning point in the fight against the virus
This trial marks a true evolution in the fight against HIV. Indeed, at present, more than 38 million people are living with the virus. Treatments that prevent AIDS from developing exist, but no preventive treatment such as a vaccine is currently available.
For Moderna President Stephen Hoge”Developing a vaccine regimen in humans that induces durable protective levels of neutralizing antibodies against HIV is difficult to achieve. At Moderna, we believe that mRNA is an opportunity for a new approach to address this challenge.”.
The Covid-19 vaccine paved the way
Although the two viruses are different, particularly in their ability to infect the cells of our body, the rapid advances in the implementation of vaccines against Covid-19 have opened the door to the development of new vaccines against other viruses such as HIV.
This is highlighted by Dr. Larry Corey, principal investigator of the HIV Vaccine Trials Network (HVTN) Leadership Operations Center, based at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, USA in the Moderna press release. He feels he is “gratifying to see that the experience gained with mRNA as a critical platform in the COVID-19 vaccine is now making its way into the field of HIV vaccines. We are optimistic that this study will pave the way for new approaches to using mRNA in the field of HIV.”.