Is AIDS vaccine research at a turning point?

Abstract

Although initial anti-ENV vaccines have failed, better results may be obtained with "non-ENV" vaccines capable of inducing cell-mediated responses and perhaps mucosal reactions. A turning point in AIDS vaccine research has been reached in that there are three precise questions to answer: 1. Are the protections obtained in monkeys significant and reproducible and could they be made more frequent? 2. Can more frequent, polyepitopic, and long-lasting cell-mediated responses in human subjects be obtained? 3. Is it possible to induce significant mucosal responses? The decision as to whether phase III trials must be launched will depend on answers to these questions. It may be possible to organize international AIDS vaccine research so that these answers could be obtained in 3 to 4 years, but this would require a frank acceleration of the present endeavors.