FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:
Michelle Simek 310.358.2423
Vincent Cummings 310.358.2423

(To download Press Release PDF, click here.)

FIRST HIGH RISK VOLUNTEER ON WEST COAST TO BEGIN HIV VACCINE STUDY

Phase II HIV vaccine study volunteer injected on Friday, April 8, 2005

Los Angeles - (April 8, 2005). The first volunteer will be injected on Friday,
April 8, 2005 with an experimental HIV vaccine by Merck. The volunteer will receive his initial injection of either the investigational vaccine or a placebo at the AIDS Research Alliance (ARA) clinic in West Hollywood as part of a new, collaborative Phase II proof-of-concept study.

After receiving his first injection, Al Walz from North Hollywood will receive two additional shots over the next six months and will be followed for approximately four years by ARA clinical staff. AIDS Research Alliance is recruiting 60 volunteers considered at higher risk for sexual contact of HIV for this multi-year study. Potential study volunteers must be HIV negative, between 18-45 years old, and able to commit to the entire length of the trial.  

Combining the strength of Merck's investigational vaccine research efforts with the clinical trials expertise and community reach of AIDS Research Alliance, this "proof-of-concept" study will allow researchers to use a smaller number of participants to test the concept that the vaccine candidate prevents HIV infection, and/or maintain a lower viral load compared with placebo in individuals who may become infected with HIV during the course of the study.

The vaccine being tested is known as the MRKAd5 HIV-1 gag/pol/nef vaccine - based on the adenovirus, a common cold virus that has been modified so that it cannot cause a cold in humans. The adenovirus is used as a delivery vehicle to transport three synthetically produced HIV genes - known as gag , pol and nef - into the cells. "It is hoped that getting these HIV genes into the cells will stimulate the body to generate a strong cellular immune response to HIV, as opposed to a solely antibody response typical of most vaccines in use today, producing an army of T-cells that are programmed to recognise and destroy cells infected with HIV," stated Stephen J. Brown, M.D., AIDS Research Alliance's Medical Director. In earlier human trials, the vaccine has been shown to generate strong and durable immune responses against HIV.

According to UNAIDS, approximately 40 million people were living with HIV in 2004. With more than 14,000 new HIV infections each day, 95 percent of which occur in developing countries, the global epidemic shows no sign of abating.

Development of a vaccine is recognised as the best long-term hope to end the AIDS pandemic, and a critical part of an integrated strategy to fight HIV infection, which also includes treatment and prevention. "There is still much work to be done," said Carolyn Carlburg, Executive Director of AIDS Research Alliance. "Every 24 hours finds so many more people newly infected worldwide.   We need to aggressively move forward with research and clinical trials to find effective interventions to both prevent and treat HIV/AIDS."

About AIDS Research Alliance

Al Walz (right) "feels strongly about this cause and is proud" to be the
first volunteer in California to receive an injection from Dr. Stephen J. Brown (left)
of AIDS Research Alliance in an experimental HIV vaccine study.
(Photo by Karen J. Wellenkamp / AIDS Research Alliance)

To download a high-resolution, print quality version of this photo, click here.

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