USAID partner IAVI makes groundbreaking HIV/AIDS discovery

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) congratulates its partner, the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) for its recent findings that may bring the scientific community a bit closer to an HIV vaccine. The results allow scientists to understand the dynamics of naturally occurring protective mechanisms that some people have against HIV.

Throughout the course of the study entitled, "Protocol G: A Cross Sectional Study to Screen For and Generate Broadly Neutralizing Monoclonal Antibodies from HIV Infected Individuals," scientists discovered that some people who are exposed to HIV have created antibodies that effectively block or neutralize the virus. These promising findings point to important clues that will inform on-going work to design a vaccine against HIV.

USAID and IAVI have been in a cooperative agreement since 2006 to accelerate the discovery of an AIDS vaccine. With the support of USAID, IAVI was able to test over 1,800 HIV positive individuals in several developing countries leading to the discovery of these highly effective antibodies that create immunity against many strains of HIV.

The findings, which were published in the journal Science, provide critical information that is sure to shape vaccine research in the future.

USAID's Office of HIV/AIDS commends IAVI on its diligent and insightful success and is proud to have supported them in this exciting work.

"We are delighted with IAVI's promising and novel achievements; if there is one thing USAID understands, it's the importance of setting long range goals," said David Stanton, division chief in USAID's Office of HIV/AIDS. "Translating these findings into an actual vaccine will surely take time and much more work, but Protocol G provides important insight into what an effective vaccine might need to look like."