First patients receive clinical trial of HIV vaccine using Moderna’s mRNA technology

The first patients have received a new experimental HIV vaccine using Moderna’s mRNA technology, the same technology that was previously used to create a successful COVID-19 vaccine.

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The vaccine tests use HIV-specific antigens to try to induce an immune response in the body, CNN reported. Moderna partnered with IAVI, which developed the specific antigens used in the vaccine, CNN reported.

In a statement, Moderna announced the first doses were given at George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences in Washington, D.C. The trial will look at 56 healthy and HIV-negative adults there and at sites in Atlanta, Georgia; Seattle, Washington; and San Antonio, Texas, WRC-TV reported.

“We are tremendously excited to be advancing this new direction in HIV vaccine design with Moderna’s mRNA platform. The search for an HIV vaccine has been long and challenging, and having new tools in terms of immunogens and platforms could be the key to making rapid progress toward an urgently needed, effective HIV Vaccine,” said Dr. Mark Feinberg, president and CEO of IAVI in a statement.

Of the group in the trail, 48 will receive one or two doses of the vaccine, and 32 will also receive a booster. Eight will only receive a booster. Researchers will then monitor the group for up to six months, ABC News reported.

An estimated 1,189,700 people in the United States had HIV at the end of 2019, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. CDC data show that the same year, 36,801 people received an HIV diagnosis. Globally, 1.5 million people were newly infected with HIV in 2020, per the United Nations.

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