"...KP-1461 causes extra mutations to occur in the HIV genome in HIV-infected patients. We believe the accumulation of extra mutations will eventually cause a critical loss of fitness in a patient’s HIV population... generally safe and well tolerated based on results from the more than 80 patients who have received the drug..."
(January 19, 2011)

http://www.koronispharma.com/news-2011-01-19.html

http://www.sciencecodex.com/step_in_breakdown...ruction_of_infected_cells

[...] "We have identified a novel mechanism by which HIV escapes recognition by virus-specific cytotoxic T cells" [...] several known HIV mutations significantly reduced peptide stability – one common mutation virtually abolished the cell-killing action of CD8 T cells. The Microsoft team members have developed a model to predict the probable stability of specific HIV peptides, but more research is needed to determine how variations in stability affect the presentation of the peptide segments called epitopes to CD8 cells and whether changes in peptide stability lead to a more efficient immune response.
"Efforts to develop T-cell-based vaccines need to focus on producing epitopes that elicit the most protective response," says Le Gall, an assistant professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. "Modulating peptide stability offers a unique way of regulating epitope presentation in favor of producing the most effective defence against HIV."

http://www.the-scientist.com/news/display/58167/

"Published 11th May 2011 12:56 PM GMT

Opinion: Progress toward an HIV/AIDS vaccine
Recent successes and ongoing efforts to develop a successful vaccine

A week from today (May 18) marks HIV Vaccine Awareness Day, an occasion designed to salute individuals on the front lines of efforts to develop a preventative vaccine against HIV. The drive to eradicate global AIDS is facing unprecedented challenges, with a report in The New York Times last year describing it as a war we are losing due to financial and technical roadblocks.

......
At Geovax Labs Inc., we are working on a combination vaccine in which the first component is a DNA vaccine co-expressing granulocyte-macrophage-colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF) and HIV virus-like particles that prime the immune response and the second component is an attenuated vaccinia virus (MVA) also engineered to express HIV virus-like particles to boost that response. Using prototype vaccines in monkey models, we have been able to demonstrate that this combination is capable of achieving a highly encouraging 70 percent prevention from infection (L. Lai, et al., Jour Inf Dis, in press).

......

In short, as we reflect on the past progress that has been made to develop an HIV/AIDS vaccine and look to the future advancements of these efforts, we have cause for optimism. The AIDS vaccine field has generated evidence for the ability of vaccines to prevent HIV infection in humans, and there is hope that the low levels of prevention achieved thus far can be enhanced by regular boosting. The field has also developed new non-human primate models for testing vaccines, enabling researchers to clearly distinguish the ability of prototype simian vaccines to prevent infection. I am confident vaccines will conquer the AIDS pandemic. Tremendous progress has been, and is continuing to be made."

Man 'cured' of AIDS after getting bone marrow transplant from donor with 'HIV immune' gene

Timothy Ray Brown, 45, claims to be the first person in history to be completely cured of AIDs.
Mr Brown, who lives in the San Francisco Bay Area, told that region's CBS 5: 'I’m cured of HIV. I had HIV but I don’t anymore'.
Last December, Mr Brown - often known as 'The Berlin Patient' because he formerly lived in that city - had his case published in the peer-reviewed journal 'Blood'.
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http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/226574.php

"Article Date: 26 May 2011

Mymetics Realizes Successful Phase I Study With Its Innovative HIV Vaccine MYM-V101

Mymetics Corporation, a pioneer in the development of vaccines that use the human mucosal system, the body's first line of defense, to prevent transmission of infectious diseases, announced today that its innovative HIV-1 (Human Immunodeficiency Virus type 1) vaccine proved to be safe and well tolerated and demonstrated a high level of immunogenicity in a Phase I trial involving 24 healthy women.

Jacques-François Martin, CEO of Mymetics, commented: "Until the completion of this Phase I trial, the capacity of our HIV-1 vaccine to induce mucosal antibodies in the genital and rectal tracts of women was unknown. Preclinical studies in non-human primates generated extremely promising data demonstrating 100% protection against multiple intra-vaginal challenges with a live virus. These new results in female volunteers strongly confirm the validity of our approach and represent a major milestone for the development of a prophylactic HIV-1 vaccine capable of establishing an efficient front-line defense at the mucosal level."

All vaccinated women rapidly developed lipopeptide P1-specific serum antibodies, confirming the high efficacy of the influenza virosomes as carriers/adjuvants for inducing a Th2 (T helper type 2) response. All vaccinated subjects also developed lipopeptide P1-specific antibodies in vaginal and rectal secretions. The functional antiviral activity of these mucosal antibodies was demonstrated by the inhibition of HIV-1 transcytosis, as reported by Dr. Morgane Bomsel (INSERM/Cochin Institute, France), a key academic partner..."