At a town-hall style meeting Tuesday at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, Md., AIDS vaccine experts considered how federal research dollars should be spent in light of the failure last September of one of the most promising vaccine candidates.
Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, director of the National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, agreed that more basic research is needed about HIV and the way the body and vaccine candidates respond to it. Fauci promised to review how NIAID can most effectively apportion the $1.5 billion it receives for AIDS research, given that the budget has been flat for several years.
Fauci said one initial step would be paring down existing projects to set aside $10 million to $15 million to fund about 30 grants to foster innovative ideas and support young researchers.
"Everything is on the table," Fauci said. "There is not an immediate solution to the problem."
Scientists do not know exactly why Merck's HIV/AIDS vaccine failed, possibly even facilitating HIV infection, in two large human trials in the United States and South Africa. But the failure has led some experts to challenge the direction of federal HIV research.
Fauci flatly rejected a proposal by the AIDS Health Care Foundation that HIV vaccine research funding be suspended and redirected to successful HIV/AIDS prevention, testing, and treatment strategies. "Under no circumstances will we stop AIDS vaccine research," he said.
"We are not close to having a vaccine" and "there is a tremendous need for innovation," said Dr. James Hoxie of the University of Pennsylvania, echoing a belief shared by many at the meeting.
NIAID needs to offer more support for developing animal models of human HIV, experts said. There also needs to be more cooperation between scientists in that field and those working on vaccine candidates.
03/26/08
UNITED STATES: Rethinking Is Urged on a Vaccine for AIDS
Source: New York Times:: Lawrence K. Altman; Courtesy of the CDC National Center for HIV, STD, and TB Prevention