U.S. experimental HIV vaccine regimen safe but ineffective: study

Los Angeles, U.S. | Xinhua | A U.S. investigational HIV vaccine regimen was safe but did not provide protection against HIV acquisition, according to a release of the U.S. National Institute of Health (NIH) on Wednesday.

The trial, called HPX3002/HVTN 706 or “Mosaico,” began in 2019 and involved 3,900 volunteers ages 18 to 60 years in Europe, North America and South America.

The trial was conducted by the HIV Vaccine Clinical Trials Network funded by the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, based at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle.

The experimental vaccine regimen was developed by Janssen. It was based on “mosaic” immunogens — vaccine components featuring elements of multiple HIV subtypes — with the goal of inducing immune responses against a wide variety of global HIV strains, according to the NIH.