Russia may have its own curing HIV vaccine in 3-4 years

Russia is expecting to have its own therapeutic vaccine to fight HIV in three-to-four years, following a series of clinical trials. Andrei Kozlov of the Federal Medical and Biological Agency, an official overseeing the vaccine project,  shared the news  with the Russian news agency RIA Novosti. 

The new drug candidate is being designed to help trigger immune response to fight the deadly virus in patients who are already HIV-positive. The vaccine is believed to be able to cure the disease or at least slow down its progress considerably. The yet-unspecified developers claim their solution will help cut the cost of treatment as it will be “much less expensive” compared to existing drugs. 

A lengthy series of preclinical trials took almost 15 years to complete. Now, in a clinical trial phase that will last several months, a reported 60 HIV-positive volunteers will be grouped in three different teams, some receiving a placebo while others having the new vaccine administered in combination with anti-retrovirus therapies. 

Experts currently talk about three different HIV vaccines being developed in Russia. However, only one of the three appears to have its advanced testing stage funded from federal coffers (a reported $1.5m). Where this winning group of developers is located has yet to be specified.

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