PHRMA

Selected Medicines and Vaccines in Development for HIV/AIDS

Preventive Vaccine – The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) estimates that there are 7,500 people worldwide who are newly-infected with HIV every day. Preventing even some of these infections would have a huge impact on the World’s health. A vaccine in development combines two vaccines into one creating a “prime-boost” vaccine. In a prime-boost approach, the one part primes the immune system to attack HIV and the second part strengthens the response. In clinical trials, the combination vaccine cut the risk of being infected with HIV by more than 30 percent.

Vaccine to Treat HIV – Another vaccine candidate in development is a topical, therapeutic vaccine, administered through a skin patch. The vaccine is comprised of DNA plasmids carrying HIV genes and is designed to stimulate HIV-specific T-cell immune responses that suppress virus replication and destroy and eliminate the HIV-infected cells. The novel mechanism of action makes the vaccine potentially useful for patients with early-stage HIV infection, who are not yet eligible for antiretroviral therapy under current treatment guidelines.

Changing the Genetics of HIV – An antisense medicine in development is different than other gene therapies because it uses a genetic delivery vehicle (or vector) derived from HIV-1 itself, removing disease-causing aspects of the virus. The delivery vehicle appears to sustain the expression of genes delivered to the infected cells for a longer period of time – requiring a minimal number of infusions – and may delay the progression of AIDS and restore the patient’s immune system. It appears to bind directly to the HIV RNA and consequently changes the genetics and biology of HIV, including molecular diversity and the ability of the virus to replicate.

Blocking a Key Receptor – Studies show that some people are immune to HIV, despite repeated exposure to the virus. Some of these people have a variant of the CCR5 protein that sits on the surface of their cells. To infect a cell, HIV must first bind to the CCR5 receptor. Since it can’t bind to the variant protein, HIV can’t enter the target cells. A next-generation medicine in development uses this knowledge to block HIV by binding to the CCR5 receptor so the virus can’t enter the cell. The medicine has potential to offer more potent and sustained viral suppression in a once-daily dose.

Potential New Class of Antiviral – A new class of antiviral medicines being developed are HIV maturation inhibitors. These medicines appear to inhibit viral particles from reaching maturity so they are incapable of infecting other cells. The medicines work by targeting a particular site on the HIV gag protein that plays a role in the last step of viral maturation. In studies the medicines have shown antiviral activity, even against strains that are resistant to currently available anti-HIV treatments.

Preventing HIV Transmission – The World Health Organization states that unprotected sex is the predominant mode of HIV transmission. A new topical microbicide would allow women to protect themselves without the use of condoms. The medicine, one in a class of drugs being studied to prevent sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV – has exhibited potential potent antiviral activity following administration.

New Approach to Treating Viral Disease – A new monoclonal antibody in development is unique in that it focuses on features found only on infected cells by binding to a basic component of the cell structure that is exposed on the cell surface only when infected with certain viruses or when they are malignant. After binding to the infected cells, the medicine alerts the body’s immune system to attack the infected cells. This makes the infected cell susceptible to the drug treatment, while potentially sparing healthy cells. In addition, the medicine is derived from the human cell and not the virus, which may keep it from being susceptible to drug resistance.

Read the Report

Read the News Release