AIDS vaccine for Asia Network

AIDS vaccine for Asia Network (AVAN): expanding the regional role in developing HIV vaccines

The HIV pandemic continues to spread and an AIDS vaccine is urgently needed. Regional alliances and international collaborations can foster the development and evaluation of the next generation of HIV vaccine candidates. The importance of coordinating and harmonizing efforts across regional alliances has become abundantly clear. The authors and their collaborators recently formed the AIDS Vaccine for Asia Network (AVAN) to help facilitate the development of a regional AIDS vaccine strategy that accelerates research and development of an AIDS vaccine through government advocacy, improved coordination, and harmonization of research; develops clinical trial and manufacturing capacity; supports ethical and regulatory frameworks; and ensures community participation.

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Editors’ note: Asia, home to over 60% of the world’s population, has 5 million people living with HIV and more than 500 million at risk for HIV exposure in highly variable epidemics across to the region. Region-specific challenges to creation of an efficacious HIV vaccine include the circulation of multiple HIV subtypes and circulating recombinant forms (CRFs) occurring when gene swapping occurs in individuals infected with two subtypes. Whereas India has predominantly subtype C, Thailand has CRF01_AE as does China which also has CRF_07B´/C and B´. Diverse host genetics and disparate social, cultural, and political contexts are the backdrop for a shift from blood borne to sexual transmission in many Asian epidemics. A major challenge for HIV vaccine trials is the need for harmonization of regulatory and ethical frameworks across the region. WHO, UNAIDS, and the Global HIV Vaccine Enterprise are working closely with AVAN as it develops its regional HIV vaccine strategy in the run-up to AIDS Vaccine 2011. The annual vaccine conference will be hosted by Thailand in Bangkok September 12-15, 2011.