Published on July 16, 2005

Only 2,000 more volunteers sought to complete initiative in three years

The final phase of an HIV-vaccine trial in Chon Buri and Rayong has shifted into high gear after a year-long delay, and completion is expected in three years.

With only 2,000 more volunteers left to be recruited, the target of 16,000 will likely be reached by the end of the year, Dr Supachai Rerks-ngarm, principal investigator for the vaccine project, told the 10th Na-tional Seminar on Aids yesterday.

After getting enough volunteers, phase three – the last stage in testing – will start. It will take six months to inject the last batch of volunteers with the prototype vaccine and a further three years to collect and test their blood and then analyse the results.

Out of 14,000 volunteers already recruited, 7,000 have finished their vaccine injection sessions. Their blood results and information have been stored in the system and will be used in the trial interpretation process at the end of the project.

Since the first volunteer was injected in October 2003, it has taken time to recruit enough people to meet the goal of 16,000.

The vaccine – a combination of the drug Alvac, produced by France-based Aventis Pasteur, and Aidsvax by US-based VaxGen Inc – showed very promising results in the previous phase, Supachai said.

“Whether the vaccine will be successful or not, the country will benefit a lot from the largest-ever vaccine trial,” he said, “When it comes to vaccine trials, it could be both yes and no.”

This is the most progressive HIV vaccine project in the world and involves the largest number of volunteers.

A draft national vaccine policy is waiting its turn to be considered by the Cabinet, said Dr Supamitr Chunsuthivat, an infectious disease expert at the Disease Control Department. The policy will shape the government’s intention to lend its full support to local vaccine research and development.

Supamitr said that Western pharmaceutical firms ignore many diseases found in Thailand because developing a vaccine for such diseases would not return a respectable profit.

“We need to be on our own in the face of emerging diseases these days,” Supamitr said.

Arthit Khwankhom

The Nation

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