IAVI lauds HIV vaccine trials in India

Toronto, Aug 16 (UNI) The International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) today lauded the efficacy of two HIV/AIDS vaccine trials being undertaken in India and said international ethical standards are followed in the trials in developing countries.

Terming the efficacy of two vaccine trials being undertaken in India as ''extraordinary,'' Mr Seth Berkley, MD, CEO and Founder of IAVI, said a lot of progress has been made and the test facilities in the country are ''world class.'' At present 30 clinical trials are under way in more than two dozen countries with a number of developing countries like India, China, Rwanda and Zambia participating in the trials. Increased political and financial commitments in recent years have spawned new scientific consortia comprising of leading HIV researchers from around the world to address critical scientific questions in vaccine development, he said.

''The AIDS pandemic continues to outpace our efforts at prevention and treatment, damaging societies and undermining social and economic progress in developing countries. We must find better HIV prevention technologies. A vaccine remains the best hope for ending the epidemic. That is why it is imperative that we focus the best tools of science and establish better models for conducting AIDS vaccine research,'' he told reporters here.

The IAVI chief stressed the need for exapanding research capabilities of developing countries, their increased involvement and opening of more centres of excellence. However, he clarified that the international ethical standards are being followed in the clinical trials being carried out in the developing countries.

Community involvement in research is being increased and informed consent is taken from those participating in the trials in India and other places.

No compromise is being made in testing safety and efficacy of the vaccine probables, but time taken for vaccine development has been reduced from 15 to 20 years by five years and it would be reduced further. He said that there has been a paradigm shift in AIDS vaccine trials and efforts are being made to reduce the time further by direct trial on high risk population.

IAVI proposed new scientific and policy initiative to accelerate AIDS vaccine development, foster capacity building in developing countries and build and sustain long term commitment from multiple stakeholder in its biennial publication. 'The AIDS Vaccine Blueprint 2006: Actions to Strengthen Global Research and Development.' It emphasised the need to enhance the policy environment supporting research and development.

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