HIV vaccine:  Dr. Mart Ustav, (Professor at the Estonian University of Tartu) together with the Finnish FIT Biotech team, developed an HIV vaccine deemed effective in clinical trials. Two years ago, the vaccine under development reached the clinical trial stage. A group of HIV-infected people in South Africa was vaccinated three times while researchers closely monitored their condition during the two-year period.

The findings revealed that the vaccine decreased the level of the virus and enhanced the functioning of the immune system in the group. “It is one of the first clinical HIV-vaccine trials to demonstrate a biological effect in a human organism,” says Professor Ustav.  “It is an important achievement, but unfortunately it’s not enough to fully protect people from the virus’ attack yet.”

According to Mart Ustav, the final goal will be reached when no one in the vaccinated group is infected by HIV. The first half of the vaccine that influences virus activity needs a counterpart to trigger a strong immune response. There are many types and subtypes of the virus, which behave somewhat differently from each other. Even in Estonia, where 7000 HIV-infected people are officially registered (the actual number could be twice as high), researchers discovered a rare type of HIV that became known as the Estonian isolate of combinate forms.

The vaccine developed by FIT Biotech is able to cover more than 95 percent of the currently known types of HIV. This is achieved by affecting the parts that these known viruses have in common. While HIV can be controlled by vaccines or drugs, there is no cure once it has developed into AIDS. The latter involves the breakdown of the immune system, so the organism is not able to protect itself against any diseases.

Source: www.ut.ee 

What do you think about HIV vaccination? Please write us to share your views. UT.ee article mentions that a fully effective HIV vaccine would have a huge impact on the pharmaceutical industry. Currently, HIV is treated as a chronic disease similar to Hepatitis B or C. Essentially, a person is chronically infected by the virus, but a constant regimen of drugs can keep the virus under control for decades. The cost of such drugs per person is 4500-8300 euros annually, which is costly for society, but very convenient for pharmaceutical companies. “Now that there is an effective vaccine in place, we can substitute costly medical HIV treatment with vaccination – this would be simpler, cheaper, and more effective,” affirms Professor Ustav. “And the quality of life of infected people would improve.”