BioCentury
ARTICLE | Clinical News

NIH halts trial of HIV prevention vaccine on lack of efficacy

April 26, 2013 1:04 AM UTC

NIH's National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) discontinued the Phase IIb HVTN 505 trial to prevent HIV infection after an interim analysis showed a lack of efficacy of the vaccine regimen in the trial. An independent DSMB found that the VRC DNA/rAd5 HIV vaccine regimen -- which consists of an HIV-1 DNA plasmid vaccine injection on days 1, 28 and 56 followed by a recombinant adenovirus serotype 5 (rAd5) vector vaccine injection on day 168 -- did not prevent HIV infection nor reduce viral load in vaccine recipients who became infected with HIV. The double-blind, placebo-controlled, U.S. trial enrolled 2,504 HIV-uninfected circumcised men who have sex with men and transgender people who have sex with men. All subjects received HIV risk-reduction counseling and condoms. ...