The new AIDS vaccine is currently being tested on 12 volunteers in Lausanne at the University Hospital and 12 patients at the St. Mary's Hospital in London. Almost half of them show an immune response and it was overall well tolerated.

The vaccine is a product of a European collaboration sponsored by the European Union under the umbrella of EuroVac, the European Vaccine Effort against HIV/AIDS. Twenty-one laboratories have been working together across Europe to develop this first vaccine and bring it to its first phase of clinical trials.

Due to the positive results of this first phase, the second phase is due to kick-off in August involving 40 volunteers. The results of this phase will be crucial to the potential of the vaccine as it will allow to substantiate the statistics. The hope is the 80% to 90% of volunteers will show an immune response. Should all go well, then the vaccine can be taken to the third phase by middle of next year, trying it out on over 300 people around Europe.

The actual production has also been a truly European affair. It is being produced by Aventis-Pasteur, the vaccine division of the German/French pharmaceutical group Aventis.

8. June 2004