For Immediate Release
Media Contact:
Justin Burke - 213.201.1525
EMAIL:jburke@apla.org
AIDSVAX TRIAL RESULTS DISAPPOINTING FINDINGS DEMONSTRATE HOPE FOR FUTURE TRIALS AND RENEWED VIGOR AND FOCUS ON HIV PREVENTION EFFORTS
Los Angeles, February 24, 2003-- AIDS Project Los Angeles (APLA) expressed disappointment with the results of the first efficacy trial of an AIDS vaccine (AIDSVAX), a product of VaxGen, which failed to show efficacy in the study population.
The experimental AIDS vaccine reduced the rate of new HIV infections by only 3.8% among people who received the vaccine, compared with study participants who received a placebo injection.
Interestingly, the study showed a statistically significant reduction of HIV infection in certain vaccinated sub-groups, particularly among the African-American study participants. Protection against HIV infection in this group seems to be correlated with higher level of vaccine-induced antibodies according to the researchers. The researchers cautioned that African-Americans made up only a small fraction of the study participants and these “positive” results could change if the vaccine was tested in larger number of African-Americans.
David Pieribone, APLA Associate Director of Education, stated, “It would be dangerous to come to any conclusions about the protective effect of AIDSVAX in this subgroup of African-Americans until additional analysis of the study data is complete. The study had too few African-Americans to draw any immediate conclusions. Additionally it must be noted that the number of Latino and Asian and Pacific Islander participants was small.”
“This study is not a complete failure though,” continued Pieribone, “There are a number of reasons to be optimistic. First, the study was a success in that it showed that high participant retention rates are possible. Secondly, researchers noted that study participants did not increase their risky behavior even if they thought they had been vaccinated. Finally, further analysis of the data may provide a better understanding of the type of immune response needed to protect against HIV infection, which will surely help improve future attempts to design an effective HIV vaccine.”
These disappointing results only reaffirm that continued prevention efforts are crucial. “Continued and rigorous vaccine research is imperative, but shouldn’t replace an equally rigorous and sustained focus on HIV prevention research and practice. We simply cannot afford to wait for a viable vaccine product,” asserts Dr. George Ayala, APLA Director of Education. "We must evolve HIV prevention approaches with the same level of unwavering persistence and investment given to drug research."
APLA applauds VaxGen for their leadership in vaccine research and thanks the thousands of volunteers who participated in the study.
AIDS Project Los Angeles, which this year marks 20 years of prevention, advocacy and service, provides direct services to more than 10,000 men, women and children living with HIV and AIDS in Los Angeles County. Services include prevention education, food banks, professional dental care, housing assistance, mental health counseling, women’s services and case management. APLA is a leader in the provision of bilingual HIV treatment information, in print and on the Internet, and advocates for effective AIDS-related policies and legislation on the local, state and federal level. For more information, please visit www.apla.org.
-APLA-