J&J stops HIV vaccine trial



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(News)
– Scientists looking for an HIV vaccine were once again disappointed. Johnson & Johnson say they ended an African vaccine trial that began in 2017 after finding it only offered 25% protection, the New York Times reports. The trial involved young women at high risk of HIV infection in five countries. The researchers say that in two years, 51 of the 1,079 study participants who received the vaccine became infected with HIV, compared to 63 of the 1,109 women who received a placebo. A previous study in Thailand had suggested the technology would be effective, but lead researcher Dr Glenda Gray, who has been working on the development of HIV for over 15 years, says it was not powerful enough to cope. to higher rates of HIV. the incidence and low rate of protection risked giving women a “false sense of security”.

Candidate Johnson & Johnson is the latest in a long line of unsuccessful efforts to find an effective HIV vaccine. “HIV is a unique and complex virus that has long posed unprecedented challenges for vaccine development due to its ability to attack, deflect and evade the human immune system,” said J&J Scientific Director Dr Paul Stoffels, in a statement, according to the AP. The researchers plan to continue a separate trial using a different iteration of the vaccine, which is being tested on men and transgender people in countries like the United States. HIV vaccine based on the same platform, reports the Times. (Read more stories about HIV.)



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