The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), has begun studies on three continents that could have broad implications for HIV prevention research.
Enrollment has begun in the first of two multinational clinical trials of an intravenously delivered investigational antibody for preventing HIV infection. Known as the AMP Studies, for antibody-mediated prevention, the trials will test whether giving people an investigational anti-HIV antibody called VRC01 as an intravenous infusion every 8 weeks is safe, tolerable and effective at preventing HIV infection. With a projected enrollment of 4,200 adults, the trials also are designed to answer fundamental scientific questions for the fields of HIV prevention and vaccine research. In addition, the studies could clarify what level of broadly neutralizing antibodies a vaccine or other long-acting HIV prevention method needs to achieve and maintain to provide sustained protection from the virus. Read more