TAG HIV Basic Science, Vaccines, and Cure Project Blog

By Richard Jefferys, Project Director at Treatment Action Group (TAG).

recent posts

Category: Uncategorized

  • Explosion of Social Media Misinformation on First Trial of Germline Targeting HIV Vaccine Strategy

    A misunderstanding of the results of a recently presented phase I HIV vaccine study has prompted an outbreak of misinformation on social media. Several erroneous claims are being made, including: That it was an mRNA vaccine – it was a specially engineered protein plus an adjuvant. That it induced antibody responses against HIV in 97%…

  • Case Report from the First Clinical Trial of CRISPR-Edited Stem Cells in People with HIV and Cancers

    One of the ways TAG keeps track of developments in HIV cure research is by maintaining an online listing of clinical research culled from trial registries (primarily clinicaltrials.gov). In May 2017, a research group in China registered the first human HIV trial involving the CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing system—a technology that has generated considerable excitement and attention…

  • Distinguishing Potential Mechanisms of HIV Persistence

    For researchers attempting to develop a cure for HIV infection, it’s important to understand the mechanisms by which the virus persists in the body despite suppression of viral load to undetectable levels by ART. Debate has centered around two possibilities that aren’t necessarily exclusive: HIV continues to replicate at low levels in body tissues that…

  • Combining Broadly Neutralizing Antibodies Shows Promise

    At CROI 2017, Michel Nussenzweig from Rockefeller University presented evidence that early administration of a short course of two broadly neutralizing antibodies (bNAbs)—3BNC117 and 10-1074—led to prolonged immunological control of SHIV viral load in macaques. The study was subsequently published in Nature. At the end of last month, results from the first human trials of the…

  • Video and Presentations from the Regulatory Pathway for HIV Cure Research Meeting

    On June 17th, the Forum for Collaborative HIV Research convened a meeting in Washington DC to discuss regulatory issues relating to HIV cure research. Youtube videos of all the sessions, slide presentations and associated meeting materials (including an Excel file with detailed cure research trial information) are now available on the Forum’s HIV Cure Project…

  • Two Trials Show Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) Can Prevent HIV Infection in Heterosexuals

    Early today, results were released from two independent clinical trials evaluating the efficacy of PrEP among heterosexuals at risk of HIV infection. In both cases, a statistically significant reduction in risk of HIV acquisition was documented in the trial participants receiving PrEP (consisting of the antiretroviral drugs Viread or Truvada) compared to placebo. The larger…

  • Th17 Cells in SIV Infection

    One of the studies of Th17 cells that was presented recently at CROI (covered on the blog previously) has now been published in the new journal, Mucosal Immunology. Full text of the paper is available free of charge. Mucosal Immunology (2008) 1, 279–288; doi:10.1038/mi.2008.14; published online 7 May 2008 Altered balance between Th17 and Th1…