Vaccines Approaches in COVID-19 Vaccine Development

HIV represents one of the most challenging viruses ever encountered. Though an HIV vaccine has yet to be licensed, vaccine science has made enormous strides as it confronts this rapidly-mutating virus. Years of painstaking work to develop vaccines for HIV are now making possible the record-breaking timelines that researchers aspire to for the development of COVID-19 vaccines. Vaccines research has generated more scientific knowledge about immune function and responses than ever existed. And key vaccine platforms are fast-tracking the development and testing of experimental vaccines for COVID-19 today.

Excerpted from Five “P”s to Watch.

Leveraging the Vaccines Enterprise for COVID-19 Vaccine Research

In many ways, the collaborative research movement grew up around Vaccines. Thanks in large part to HIV advocacy, out-of date research models that were competitive and closed-door are increasingly yielding to more transparent and collaborative research and development efforts—in both the HIV and COVID-19 responses.

Building on big science partnerships, data sharing and collaboration pioneered over the last 15 years of Vaccines research and development, global initiatives are marshalling the talents, experiences and resources of key stakeholders. And just as HIV laid the foundation for more effective partnerships in research, lessons from the COVID-19 experience can also inspire greater collaboration and broader involvement by a range of players in the vaccines research effort.

Excerpted from 5 “P”s to Watch.

HVTN 702 and the Quest for Vaccine

One of the most anticipated HIV vaccine efficacy trials in the field—HVTN 702, or Uhambo—stopped vaccinations early after a scheduled review showed the vaccine did not offer protection.

The trial team will continue to follow participants over the next year to monitor safety and answer urgent questions raised by the trial results. In this episode of Px Pulse, HVTN 702 Protocol Co-chair and AVAC Board Member Linda-Gail Bekker explores what the trial team hopes to learn during the follow-up period and how these answers might impact the ongoing pursuit for an HIV vaccine. AVAC’s Regional Stakeholder Engagement Advisor Nandisile Luthuli also joins the conversation to shed light on the trial team’s plans for continuing community engagement, and AVAC’s Director of Research Engagement, Stacey Hannah, talks about the successes of the trial.

Vaccine Efficacy Trials Pipeline

This infographic shows a timeline for each of the three major vaccine efficacy trials proposed or underway now.

Vaccines Research Pipeline

This graphic shows the many types of Vaccines undergoing research, categorized by the immune response they are designed to elicit—broadly neutralizing antibodies, non-neutralizing antibodies, T-cell responses or a combination of these.

AVAC’s “3D” View of the World: 2019 and beyond

This infographic lays out AVAC’s top-line recommendations from AVAC Report 2019: Now What? The recommendations fall into three categories: deliver — prevention programs whose impact is well-measured and -defined; demonstrate — next-generation engagement for next-generation trials; develop — new targets for the post-2020 world.

HIV Vaccine Research and Development Pipeline: 2019 Supplement

A slide deck overview of what’s happening in HIV vaccine research now.

Vaccine Strategies in the Pipeline

Scientists are studying these strategies to develop an effective vaccines and deliver it into the body in a way that maximizes the immune response.

HIV-Specific Neutralizing Antibodies – Targets and research status

Numerous studies, both early and late phase, are investigating the efficacy of neutralizing antibodies. This infographic shows the ongoing studies and the differing locations they target on the virus.

Vaccines Trial Participation in 2019

A look at the number of participants in vaccines trials in 2019 according to trial phase.