Pharmaceutical company reports positive tests results of HIV vaccine

Inovio Pharmaceuticals researchers and scientists at Duke and Drexel Universities recently reported promising data from a clinical trial of its vaccine for Clade C HIV, a subtype of HIV-1 found worldwide.

A paper published in the journal Vaccine said that Inovio's vaccines in development, Pennvax-G and Pennvax-GP, appear to boost antibody response in rhesus monkeys and to protect them from subsequent simian immunodeficiency virus infection.

The Pennvax-G vaccine is also currently undergoing Phase I trials in the U.S. Military HIV Vaccine Research Program, which has recruited nearly 100 patients around the world and a further 12 in the U.S. to take the vaccine prior to HIV infection.

The company has stated that both vaccines promote increased immune protection to HIV infection. Each is a DNA vaccine, which contains simple DNA rings called "plasmids" that induce immune response rather than dead or weakened but otherwise whole microorganisms.

At present, HIV is incurable. Individuals who suspect they have contracted the virus or another sexually transmitted disease may consider using online testing services to determine the state of their sexual health.