HIV/AIDS Vaccine Conference Begins in Philadelphia
AIDS vaccine researchers, public health officials and pharmaceutical company representatives are gathering in Philadelphia today for AIDS Vaccine 2001, the "first in a series of meetings designed to speed" research on AIDS vaccines, USA Today reports (Sternberg, USA Today, 9/5). Tonight at the conference, sponsored by the Foundation for AIDS Vaccine Research and Development, the NIH, CDC, UNAIDS, WHO and the French Agence Nationale Recherches sur le SIDA, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, will deliver a keynote lecture detailing recent developments in vaccine research and challenges facing researchers as they look for a substance that can prevent infection or prime the immune system to hold HIV infection in check. "Historically, vaccines have provided safe, cost-effective and efficient means of preventing illness, disability and death from infectious diseases," Fauci noted in a NIH release, adding that a "safe and effective vaccine for HIV infection is a central goal of AIDS research and a necessary tool to bring the HIV epidemic under control." Fauci will also detail the agency's spending projections for fiscal year 2002. NIAID will spend $450.7 million on vaccine research next year, with $276.5 million earmarked specifically for HIV vaccine development. NIAID is researching about 24 vaccine candidates, 16 of which are specifically designed to fight the A and C HIV subtypes most prevalent in the developing world (NIH release, 9/4).
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