AIDS researchers hail major breakthrough

AIDS researchers in the US say they are on the brink of producing a simple drug to prevent the onset of HIV, the deadly virus that causes AIDS.

Lab tests show, for the first time, a vaccine the researchers have developed produces antibodies that block the infection of multiple HIV strains, an elusive scientific goal that has been pursued for more than a decade.

It is expected the vaccine will be employed in clinical trials within the next 18 months.

The news has been greeted by Dr Robert Gallo, the discoverer of the HIV virus, as “one of the most exciting findings in current AIDS research”.

Though still in the early developmental stages at the Institute of Human Virology (IHV) in Maryland, a report on the finding has excited medical researchers all over the world.

The report was written by Dr Timothy Fouts, Dr Anthony DeVico and colleagues at the IHV, part of the University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute, and Dr Ranajit Pal and colleagues at Advanced BioScience Laboratories, in Kensington, MD.

“This is one of the more exciting findings I have witnessed in HIV/AIDS research,” said Dr Gallo.

“From the beginning of the field of HIV/AIDS research, the most important goal was to develop a vaccine that prevents virus infection,” says Dr Gallo.

“The difficulties have been many, spanning close to two decades. But this has the potential to bring us a major step forward in that ultimate quest,” he said.