Universal HIV Vaccine Anticipated After Pioneer Approach Eradicates "All Strains"

A novel approach to controlling HIV may give the world its first vaccine and help even those infected.

According to BBC, researchers have found a way to insert a compound into healthy muscle cells of monkeys. The compound helps the body setup an anti-HIV mechanism that can protect the body even when exposed to high doses of the virus. Conventional vaccines cannot fight the virus as it mutates rapidly, rendering vaccines inefficient. Researchers found that their drug candidate binds better than current crop of antiretroviral and prevent entry of HIV into healthy cells.

"Our compound is the broadest and most potent entry inhibitor described so far. Unlike antibodies, which fail to neutralize a large fraction of HIV-1 strains, our protein has been effective against all strains tested, raising the possibility it could offer an effective HIV vaccine alternative," said the study's lead author Michael Farzan of The Scripps Research Institute in a news release.

The New York Times reported that the new drug candidate has protected monkeys for one year from large doses of infections due to multiple strains of SHIV, a modified version of HIV used for testing on lab monkeys. Human trials will begin after researchers determine if the drug candidate also works in animals with existing infection. Clinical trials are expected to take place in three phases.

"This is the culmination of more than a decade's worth of work on the biochemistry of how HIV enters cells. When we did our original work on CCR5, people thought it was interesting, but no one saw the therapeutic potential. That potential is starting to be realized," Farzan added.