The new study, funded in part by the U.S. government’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, will enroll 5,400 sexually active men and women between 18 and 35 at sites across South Africa. “If deployed alongside our current armory of proven HIV prevention tools, a safe and effective vaccine could be the final nail in the coffin for HIV,” said Anthony Fauci, director of the U.S. National institute for Allergies and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), which is taking part in the study. That trial was, however, controversial as the vaccine was a combination of two where one, called AidsVax, was ineffective on its own.
South Africa launches the HVTN 702 trial for an experimental AIDS vaccine, which will involve over 5,400 men and women over the course of four years.