What's Next for the First HIV Vaccine in History?

Renowned HIV researchers responded to the call to intervene in the coronavirus epidemic when the world required a COVID-19 vaccine. The search is now on to find the first HIV vaccine ever.

"Yunda Huang, Ph.D., of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Centre in Seattle, Washington, tells me that the body can produce antibodies to protect us against HIV." We had a conversation before to her presentation at the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI) 2024 Annual Meeting today.

Huang discussed the future of neutralizing antibody protection in light of the unsuccessful outcome of the previous generation's attempt to build an HIV vaccine.

HIV broadly neutralizing antibodies have increased during the last 20 years, and vaccination techniques have been developed to produce them. mRNA, nanoparticle technology, and germline methods are promising developments.

Researchers concluded there is "little to no chance" the research would demonstrate the vaccinations are effective, leading them to halt the PrEP vaccine trial investigating two experimental preventative regimens in Africa.

A Shape-Shifting Virus

HIV has been dubbed the "shape-shifting virus" because it can modify its appearance to evade detection even by antibodies produced by humans.

Huang and others, however, remain hopeful that a vaccination that works is still conceivable.

"We cannot and will not lose hope that the world will have an effective HIV vaccine that is accessible by all who need it, anywhere," stated Birgit Poniatowski, Executive Director of the International AIDS Society (IAS), in a statement released in December following the trial's termination.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention state that HIV is still an ongoing issue in the United States, having impacted an estimated 1.2 million individuals.

With new people infected every day around the globe, Dr Huang says she feels a sense of urgency to help. "I think about all the people around the globe and the large number of young girls being hurt and I know our big pool of talent can intervene to change what we see happening."

According to Huang, just as successes usually do, the clinical trial failures that have occurred thus far will aid in directing future directions in HIV research.

Advances in the Field

A new wave of clinical trials is coming thanks to major advancements in the fields of protein nanoparticle science, mRNA technology, adjuvant development, and B-cell and antibody analysis.

Additionally, the HIV Vaccine Trials Network is revamping its methods to traverse a rapidly expanding area and pinpoint the most promising regimens, since several novel approaches are being developed.

To assist the network in evaluating novel vaccine candidates, a Discovery Medicine Program has been launched. Additionally, it will try to eliminate others first.

Multimeric nanoparticles are a promising option that is being studied for COVID-19 and the flu, and they may be modified for HIV.

Huang states that she is very interested in following the developments in combination monoclonal cocktails. "I've been working in this field for 20 years now and there is a misconception that with pre-exposure prophylaxis, our job is done, but HIV is so far from away from being solved."

But as Huang puts it, you never know. Research suggests that "we could bump on something at any point that changes everything."