Australian Experimental HIV Treatment Vaccine Restricts Viral Levels
in HIV-Positive People, Study Says [Feb 13, 2004]

Australian biotech company Virax's experimental HIV treatment vaccine is
effective at reducing viral levels in HIV-positive patients by strengthening the
immune system, according to findings announced on Thursday at the 11th
Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections in San Francisco, the
Australian reports.

Researchers from the Australian National Centre for HIV Epidemiology and
clinical Research and colleagues injected 35 people, each of whom had recently
become HIV-positive, with three different vaccines, one of which was Virax's
VIR201. Participants in each group received injections at the start of the trial
and at weeks four and 12. After receiving the injections, the 12 people who
received VIR201 had lower HIV levels than the other trial participants, the
researchers said (Pirani, Australian, 2/13).

Patients receiving VIR201 had viral loads six times lower than those of the
individuals who were given the placebo injections (Kelly, Brisbane Courier-Mail,
2/13). According to the Australian, the participants who received VIR201
experienced no adverse side effects. Current drugs available to treat HIV are
"incredibly effective" but are "associated over long-term use with a number of
hard-to-manage side effects," Sean Emery, an associate professor at the
Australian National Centre for HIV Epidemiology and Clinical Research, said
(Australian, 2/13). "This is moving from the concept of treating HIV with
[antiretrovirals] to the concept of treating someone who is HIV-positive with a
vaccine that will stimulate the immune system to control the virus," Steve
Wesselingh, director of Melbourne's Burnet Institute, said, adding, "The benefit
to patients is they will either be able to take fewer drugs or no drugs at all."

Researchers from the University of New South Wales who are also overseeing the
trials said that the results on VIR201 are preliminary (Kelly, Melbourne
Herald-Sun, 2/13).

http://kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_index.cfm?DR_ID=22190
___________________

New vaccine hailed as HIV breakthrough

Jen Kelly
13feb04

A MELBOURNE company's world-first vaccine to prevent AIDS in HIV-
positive patients has been hailed as a major breakthrough.

Medical experts are thrilled by early results from the injection,
which kick-starts the body's immune system to fight HIV.
Doctors say if the HIV level can be kept low, patients will avoid
AIDS and live long and relatively healthy lives.

Australian researchers yesterday announced promising results of a
trial of 35 HIV patients at Melbourne's Alfred hospital and Carlton
Clinic and Sydney clinics.

The research offers hope in the fight against the global AIDS
epidemic, which kills five people every minute, with 42 million
infected.

Melbourne biotechnology company Virax's shares soared 18 per cent to
91c yesterday after the revelation, sending the company's value to
$46.6 million.

Infectious diseases expert Professor Steve Wesselingh, director of
Melbourne's Burnet Institute, said the treatment could be available
in a few years.

"This is a major breakthrough," he said.

"This is moving from the concept of treating HIV with anti-virals to
the concept of treating someone who is HIV-positive with a vaccine
that will stimulate the immune system to control the virus.

"The benefit to patients is they will either be able to take fewer
drugs or no drugs at all."

Existing anti-viral treatments directly attack HIV, but the new
treatment empowers the body's immune system to fight it.

HIV patients currently rely on a cocktail of up to 12 tablets a day
to control the virus and prevent AIDS, often with debilitating side
effects.

If one tablet is missed, the treatment could fail.

"For the drugs to work you need to take 95 per cent of your tablets,
which means you can only miss essentially a tablet a month, which is
quite hard to do," Professor Wesselingh said.

"They also have side-effects, and you need to take them essentially
forever. If you could stimulate someone's immune system to control
the

virus, that would be much better than them having to take toxic
medications all the time."

In the trial, HIV patients were given four injections of the vaccine,
VIR201, over a year. Twenty weeks later, patients receiving the
treatment had lower levels of HIV than those on a placebo.

The results were presented at an international medical conference in
San Francisco. The University of NSW researchers overseeing the
trials stress the results are preliminary.

http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5478,8665667%
255E662,00.html