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March 1, 2002

“A Step Forward in the AIDS Vaccine Dance”

USA Today (www.usatoday.com) (02/28/02) P. 8D; Sternburg, Steve

The bad news in the AIDS treatment world is that studies of Aventis Pasteur’s ALVAC vaccine have been discontinued and that Merck Research Laboratories’ vaccine does not prevent infection.  The Merck product does show the possibilities inherent in using a vaccine that primes the immune system in combination with a vaccine that ups the response level.  The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases’ Anthony Fauci indicates that many vaccine candidates are in companies’ pipelines.  The search for treatments has been spurred by the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative and the speed at which HIV is spreading globally.

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