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March 22, 2002

U.S. IMMUNIZATION NEWS

"Virus vs. Virus"

Bergen Record (www.bergen.com) (03/19/02) P. A1; Krauskopf, Lewis

Merck's HIV vaccine program leaders are using a novel approach to attacking the disease, employing modified cold viruses as transporters of an AIDS gene that will prompt immune system cells to attack HIV-infected cells as intruders.  Merck is as cautious about suggesting that an AIDS cure is imminent as anyone else, but the company echoes the sentiment of David Gold, vice president of policy for the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative when he stated, "I do think it's no longer a question of 'if,' it's a question of 'when,' but that 'when' might take awhile." Such a vaccine may be a preventive treatment, but it could also stop the disease's spread when inside the body, reducing the need for medicines that are expensive, difficult to manage, can often be toxic, and have been known to become less effective against AIDS over time.  Many companies are working on their own versions of an HIV vaccine, but Merck is exceptional in that it has been putting a tremendous amount of funding and manpower into the project, though it will not reveal how much.  Its recent reports suggest that human trials of the cold-based vaccine have been as successful as monkey trials, an encouraging finding because the vaccine kept HIV levels below detection for more than 500 days after infection with just one injection.

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