Scanning electron micrograph (SEM) of HIV-1 virions as green round bumps budding from the surface of a cultured lymphocyte cell, 1985. Image courtesy CDC/C. Goldsmith, P. Feorino, E.L. Palmer, W. R. McManus. (Photo by Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Imag …
ATLANTA - Emory University is participating in a first-of-its-kind clinical trial for a possible HIV vaccine.
Starting later this year, researchers at the Atlanta university will test the use of messenger RNA - or mRNA - technology in vaccines for the first time in humans.
The trial, designated IAVI G002, was started earlier in 2022 by a nonprofit research organization. Moderna is manufacturing the potential vaccine.
The vaccine technology is the same type used in the Pfizer and Moderna's COVID-19 vaccinations.
"As a scientific community, we have had tremendous success with the mRNA SARS-CoV-2 vaccines for prevention of COVID-19," says Srilatha Edupuganti, MD, lead investigator for IAVI G002 at the Hope Clinic site. "The logical next step is to ask the question: will mRNA HIV vaccines work for prevention of HIV? We are really excited to be taking part in this study and embark on this journey to answer this highly important scientific question."
In the trial, Emory's Hope Clinic and three other universities in Washington DC, Seattle, and San Antonio will enroll 56 healthy, HIV-negative volunteers, the majority of whom will receive one or two doses of the mRNA vaccine. Researchers will then evaluate their immune response and safety for the next six months.
If found to be safe and effective, the mRNA use in vaccines could potentially be major change in global health.
For years, scientists have tested a variety of older vaccine technologies to stop the virus - none of which have been successful at preventing HIV.
Anyone interested in volunteering for the trial at Emory can fill out a form on the Hope Clinic's website, or call the clinic at 877-288-0048.