http://uk.news.yahoo.com/030222/80/dtuyu.html
Long-awaited results for the first human test of a vaccine against the AIDS virus will be announced on Monday, vaccine maker VaxGen says. Data from the trial, which began in 1998, is being analysed over the weekend, the Brisbane, California-based company said. It will be the first peek at the possible human benefits of a vaccine against the deadly virus, which has killed 25 million people around the world and has infected 40 million more. There is no cure for HIV and drugs that keep it under control are only available to patients in industrialised countries. All experts agree that a vaccine is the only hope for controlling HIV. VaxGen has immunised two-thirds of 5,400 volunteers for the Phase III trial of the vaccine, called AIDSVAX. They include 5,000 homosexual or bisexual men and 400 women considered to be at high risk of getting HIV. They have been watched since 1998 to see who becomes infected. The hope, is, obviously, that fewer people who got the vaccine will have become infected with HIV. "Many scientists have expressed deep scepticism about the ability of AIDSVAX to prevent HIV infection. They may be right. They may be wrong," the AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalition, which has been carefully watching the trials, said in a statement. "At best, doctors now hope that one or more of the vaccines may simply help people to live a little longer with the virus, or perhaps to reduce the ease with which it is transmitted from person to person." VaxGen's AIDSVAX vaccine is based on some of the earliest knowledge of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. It is the only HIV vaccine to have completed Phase III clinical trials -- the last step before a vaccine or drug maker can seek approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. About 30 other vaccines are in earlier stages of human testing. AIDSVAX uses two proteins, based on the gp-120 protein found on the outside "envelope" of the virus. The hope is the body's immune system can become sensitised to anything carrying gp-120 and will mount a response to the virus. VaxGen's shares, which fell 21 cents, or 1.6 percent, to settle at $13.02 on the Nasdaq exchange, were halted after the market close on Friday for news pending. xponent News Maru rob ________________________________ You are a fluke of the universe. You have no right to be here. And whether you can hear it or not, the universe is laughing behind your back. _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
