FDA OKS TESTS OF PREVENTIVE AIDS VACCINE.Byline: Donna Shaw Knight-Ridder Tribune News Wire The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved human testing of a preventive AIDS vaccine AIDS vaccine A hypothetical vaccine intended to either prevent HIV infection or ensure that those infected will not fall victim to AIDS; the most promising vaccine is that using a naked DNA plasmid, reported by Letwin et al in 20/10/00 Science; as of early 2001, made with genetic material from the virus, scientists will announce today. It would be the first time the government has allowed any DNA-based product to be tested on healthy, uninfected people, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. the vaccine's co-developers at Apollon Inc., a Malvern, Pa., biotechnology company, and the University of Pennsylvania (body, education) University of Pennsylvania - The home of ENIAC and Machiavelli. http://upenn.edu/. Address: Philadelphia, PA, USA. . The vaccine will be administered to 16 HIV-negative volunteers at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md. Both safety and effectiveness will be measured during the 18-month study, an Apollon spokesman said. Two components of the vaccine will be tested separately. The first contains the genes that enable the production of key HIV HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus), either of two closely related retroviruses that invade T-helper lymphocytes and are responsible for AIDS. There are two types of HIV: HIV-1 and HIV-2. HIV-1 is responsible for the vast majority of AIDS in the United States. proteins, including the viral envelope viral envelope n. The outer structure that encloses the nucleocapsids of some viruses. protein. The second component, scheduled for testing later this year, includes the genes that direct production of viral core proteins. The goal, according to Vincent A. Zurawski, Apollon's president and chief executive, is to develop a vaccine that produces an immune response immune response n. An integrated bodily response to an antigen, especially one mediated by lymphocytes and involving recognition of antigens by specific antibodies or previously sensitized lymphocytes. strong enough to protect against HIV infection, using viral DNA DNA: see nucleic acid. DNA or deoxyribonucleic acid One of two types of nucleic acid (the other is RNA); a complex organic compound found in all living cells and many viruses. It is the chemical substance of genes. instead of live virus. The AIDS vaccine is the second from the Apollon-Penn collaboration to reach human trials. In June, they began testing the first DNA-based vaccine ever - this one designed to delay, or even halt, the onset of AIDS in people already infected with HIV. That study continues in Philadelphia and Switzerland. The researchers have found that certain chemicals enhance the potency of DNA-based vaccines. If the technology works, they think it has the potential to work against a host of other diseases as well. Today's announcement will come a week after the start of large-scale human testing with another AIDS product. On March 18, scientists began nationwide trials of Remune, a compound made from killed virus that is designed to stimulate the immune systems of patients already infected with HIV, rather than prevent infection. Remune was developed by polio-vaccine pioneer Jonas Salk, who died last year. |
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