VANCOUVER: A preventative HIV/AIDS vaccine under development in Canada has shown
no adverse effects so far in human clinical trials, researchers said Tuesday.
The vaccine, SAV001-H, was
developed by researchers at the University of Western Ontario in Canada and
supported by Sumagen Canada, a company that manages and supports clinical
development of the vaccine.
SAV001-H is the only HIV vaccine
currently under development in the country and one of only a few in the world,
Xinhua news agency reported.
The researchers hoped the
progress would pave the way for success in the final phases of clinical
testing, which might finally lead to the world's first commercialised HIV
vaccine.
The first person who applied
clinical study to evaluate the vaccine's safety and tolerability was initiated
in March in the US after receiving approval from the US Food and Drug
Administration.
Infected men and women aged
between 18 to 50 years old were enrolled in this study and randomised into two
treatment groups to test the vaccine.
The researchers announced that no
adverse effects have been observed in patients subjected to the SAV001-H
injection to date and that interim data had shown significant increase in the
HIV-1 antibody formations in some patients.
With the current results, the
researchers are confident of the safety of SAV001-H and its potency of inducing
immune responses in human trials as they prepare to take steps towards the next
phases of clinical trials.
HIV/AIDS has killed more than 28
million people worldwide and over 34 million people currently live with the
virus infection.
Despite numerous trials around
the world to develop vaccines, no vaccine has been commercialised to date.
- Bernama/jc
No comments:
Post a Comment