Heroes of AIDS vaccine trial: 30 volunteers

The tension and excitement was palpable at the vaccine trial clinic at the National AIDS Research Institute (NARI) in Bhosari here. And why ...

The tension and excitement was palpable at the vaccine trial clinic at the National AIDS Research Institute (NARI) in Bhosari here. And why not? After all, Dr Sanjay Mehendale and his team of 20 medicos have been working since 2002 for this day.

‘‘This is the first-ever human study of a preventive AIDS vaccine candidate in India,’’ said the deputy director, senior grade of NARI and principal investigator of the trial, as he explained the complicated procedure.

There are 30 volunteers who have enrolled for the Phase I trials, during which some will receive an injection of tgAACO9 — which is being developed as a preventive AIDS vaccine — while others will receive an inactive substance called a placebo. Batches of 10 volunteers will be subsequently tested.

On Monday, two men and one woman received the intra-muscular injection in the upper arm. Neither the volunteers nor the project team members working with them will know who received what (tgAACO9 or placebo) until after the study is over, said Mehendale.

Anuradha Mascarenhas

Anuradha Mascarenhas is a journalist with The Indian Express and is based in Pune. A senior editor, Anuradha writes on health, research developments in the field of science and environment and takes keen interest in covering women's issues. With a career spanning over 25 years, Anuradha has also led teams and often coordinated the edition. ... Read More

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