Life

Moderna confirms first patients have been jabbed in trial of its HIV vaccine

By Conor Clark

28th January 2022

Moderna confirmed that the first participants have been dosed with its experimental HIV vaccine, kicking off its Phase 1 study.

In an announcement on 27 January, it stated that it had partnered with the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) to work on the jab.

Just like its highly effective COVID-19 vaccine, Moderna’s HIV shot uses mRNA (also known as messenger RNA) technology which helps the body make proteins that trigger immune responses.

The first doses in its clinical trial were administered at George Washington University (GWU) School of Medicine and Health Sciences in Washington, D.C., with the first phase aiming to build on the response seen in Moderna’s proof-of-concept trial.

“We are tremendously excited to be advancing this new direction in HIV vaccine design with Moderna’s mRNA platform. The search for an HIV vaccine has been long and challenging, and having new tools in terms of immunogens and platforms could be the key to making rapid progress toward an urgently needed, effective HIV vaccine,” said Mark Feinberg, M.D., Ph.D., president and CEO of IAVI.

Despite an estimated 38 million people living with HIV worldwide, an effective vaccine is yet to be developed.

Some of the efforts to do so made it to clinical trials, though failed to be effective in later stages of the process.

However, thanks to major medical advances, living with HIV is no longer a death sentence in the way it was at the height of the AIDS epidemic as viral loads can be reduced to a level so low that the virus cannot be transmitted.

Stephen Hoge, M.D., President of Moderna, added: “We are very pleased to be partnering with IAVI and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to apply our mRNA technology in the setting of HIV.

“At Moderna, we believe that mRNA offers a unique opportunity to address critical unmet public health needs around the world.

“We believe advancing this HIV vaccine program in partnership with IAVI and Scripps Research is an important step in our mission to deliver on the potential for mRNA to improve human health.”