The Global HIV Vaccine Enterprise is an alliance of independent partners from the major scientific, funding and policy organizations involved in AIDS vaccine research and development. The idea first emerged in a June 27, 2003 Science magazine policy forum where 24 leaders in HIV vaccine research, addressed the need for a high-quality collaborative AIDS vaccine research system as the most effective way to move forward the effort to development an effective AIDS vaccine. And thus, the Global HIV Vaccine Enterprise was born.
A scientific strategic plan for the Enterprise was published in February 2005 in PLoS Medicine, identifying the key scientific hurdles for HIV vaccine research, product development and manufacturing, human resources, regulations, and intellectual property. Emphasizing innovation, coordination and transparency, the plan begins to address the ways to tackle these challenges.
Some of the priorities from the plan include:
- The use of hard data to make go/no-go decisions for advancement of products into large human trials;
- The development of better assays and their standardization so they can be used across groups for head-to-head comparisons of products and approaches;
- The readiness for staffing and supporting developing-country trials;
- More transparency, including the public sharing of negative trial results; and
- A rational use of animal data.
In 2005, the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) established the Center for HIV/AIDS Vaccine Immunology (CHAVI), a consortium of researchers who will be working together to study immune responses, infection control and the design and testing of new vaccines. CHAVI and the $300 million in HIV research grants from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation announced in 2006, represent the possibility of new partnerships among government, academic, commercial and non-profit entities. Not one element of this progress is sufficient alone to bring forth an AIDS vaccine but all are necessary steps.
In August 2007 the Enterprise interim secretariat released a Report of Activities - a report on the progress achieved since the Scientific Strategic Plan was published in February 2005.
In October 2007, the Enterprise announced the appointment of Dr. Alan Bernstein, former president of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, as the new Enterprise executive director. Dr. Bernstein will head the new secretariat which will be based in New York City.
AVAC continues to monitor the progress of the Enterprise and issued a Call to Action for the Enterprise in its 2007 Report of the field. In its 2006 Report, AVAC included an update on the Enterprise and in 2005, AVAC published an open letter, outlining key priorities and expectations for the Enterprise ED.
"One of the most daunting challenges is to create an effective vaccine to prevent HIV/AIDS. Some of the world's top scientific minds are working on this challenge, but many of the researchers are isolated, under pressure for immediate results, and unaware of their colleagues' discoveries. Fortunately, over the past two years the global scientific community has come together under the Global HIV Vaccine Enterprise to coordinate HIV vaccine research under one strategy - to help eliminate duplication, identify the gaps, and maximize the synergy from so many brilliant minds. It is time that the energy and commitment to find an HIV vaccine matches the magnitude of the pandemic."
— Bill Gates, May 2005
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