Advancement in AIDS vaccine development

The worldwide quest for an AIDS vaccine represents an unprecedented scientific and human challenge. Preventive AIDS vaccines, in combination with other prevention strategies, represent our best hope to end the epidemic. Ideally an AIDS vaccine should induce both neutralizing antibodies and cell-mediated immune responses against HIV. AIDS vaccines could prevent either HIV infection or progression to disease and decrease transmission by reducing the HIV viral load. The first generation of IADS vaccine based on subunit HIV-1 envelopes failed to demonstrated efficacy. Most of the current vaccine approaches developed so far aim at inducing cell-mediated immune responses. Promising vector-based vaccines include modified vaccinia Ankara, adeno-associated virus and adenoviruses. A worldwide effort is made to develop vaccines inducing neutralizing antibodies against primary isolates. All vaccines tested so far in humans have proven to be safe. This long-term endeavor requires strong political leadership and commitment, flexibility of processes, medical and scientific dedication, multi country collaboration and informed community participation. Recent developments in India highlight clearly the commitment of the Government of India and the scientific community to a long-term global effort to develop an AIDS vaccine.