cbaker_admin
Mon, 03/29/2021 – 20:30
In the ongoing pursuit for a safe and effective vaccine against HIV, the HVTN 702 study sought to gather more evidence on a canarypox-protein regimen (ALVAC-HIV plus AIDSVAX B/E) that showed potential in earlier research. An analogous regimen using HIV-1 subtype C virus generated promising humoral and cellular responses in a Phase I/II trial in South Africa. Investigators aimed to build on those results with the newer Phase IIb/III, which targeted a larger South African population. A total of 5,404 adults without HIV were included in the study, which randomized them in a 1:1 ratio to either vaccine or placebo. At 2-year followup, HIV was diagnosed in 138 participants who had received ALVAC-HIV vaccine plus bivalent subtype C gp120-MF59. HIV infection also occurred in 133 of the study controls, for a difference that was not statistically significant. The trial ended prematurely in 2020, after interim analysis demonstrated nonefficacy. Contrary to evidence of immunogenicity in previous work, the HVTN 702 research shows that the ALVAC-gp120 regimen did not successfully protect South Africans from HIV-1 infection.
