New vaccine research suggests that scientists are homing in on the critical ingredients of a protective HIV vaccine and identifies new HIV vaccine candidates to test in human clinical trials. Read more here...

The African AIDS Vaccine Parntership (AAVP) held a satellite session at AIDS Vaccine 2011 in Bangkok, Thailand to review its new strategic direction and seek input on strategies to enhance AAVP’s relevance in Africa.  The full meeting report is below.

The Canadian HIV Vaccine Initiative (CHVI) announced that the International Centre for Infectious Diseases (ICID) will house the new Canadian HIV Vaccine Initiative (CHVI) Research and Development Alliance Coordinating Office (ACO). The ACO will provide support, establish networks, offer leadership in innovation to accelerate efforts to develop a vaccine.  The full announcement is located here (http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/ahc-asc/media/nr-cp/_2011/2011_161-eng.php).

IAVI, The Scripps Research Institute, Theraclone Sciences and Monogram Biosciences (a LabCorp company), published in the journal, Nature, today the discovery of 17 new broadly neutralizing antibodies against HIV. Together these discoveries with other recent discoveries in the neutralizing antibody arena represent tremendous progress in this area of AIDS vaccine research.  The IAVI announcement is available below.

The HIV Vaccines and Microbicides Resource Tracking Working Group released its seventh report on HIV prevention research funding, which states that new investment is critical to capitalizing on HIV prevention breakthroughs. The full report is available here: http://www.hivresourcetracking.org/sites/default/files/RTWG-Capitalizing%20on%20Scientific%20Progress.pdf. 

AVAC says results of new PrEP trials provide clear evidence that antiretroviral  drugs for prevention can help end the AIDS epidemic; calls for quick action  to move landmark HIV prevention results toward lifesaving programs.  Read the full statement below. 

IAVI today announced the appointment of Margaret (Margie) McGlynn as President and Chief Executive Officer. McGlynn, replaces Seth Berkley, IAVI’s Founding President and CEO.  The full announcement is below.

To commemorate the 30th anniversary of the first reported cases of what is now known as AIDS, Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, describes his personal experiences as a physician, leading HIV/AIDS researcher, and scientific administrator during a special lecture and editorial in the Washington Post.

The HIV Prevention Trials Network (HPTN) announced findings from HPTN 052, a study to evaluate the immediate versus delayed use of antiretroviral therapy by HIV-infected individuals on transmission to uninfected partners and health of the infected individual. The study showed that initiation of ART by HIV-­‐infected individuals substantially protected their HIV-­uninfected sexual partners from acquiring HIV infection, with a 96 percent reduction in risk of HIV transmission.

A research team led by Dr. Louis Picker at Oregon Health & Science University’s (OHSU) Vaccine and Gene Therapy Institute published findings in Nature that produced a vaccine candidate that programs the immune system of non-human primates to respond more swiftly to the presence of a primate version of HIV than it normally would. Details of this advance are published in the advance online edition of Nature.