Global health R&D at work in Washington D.C.
George Washington University is one of four US sites that participated in the phase 1 clinical trial of the first mRNA vaccines for HIV in partnership with the study’s sponsor, IAVI. The two vaccine antigens being tested, which use the same technology as mRNA COVID-19 vaccines, train the body’s immune system to recognize the protein on the surface of HIV particles and develop broadly neutralizing antibodies that protect against a wide range of HIV strains. Early results from the study showed that the experimental vaccine is safe and elicited a robust immune response in people. If further studies provide successful, we could see mRNA technology, which was critical during the COVID-19 pandemic, play a major role in the longstanding fight against HIV/AIDS. Since the beginning of the AIDS epidemic, at least 40 million people have died of AIDS and globally, 39 million people currently live with HIV.