A snapshot of the COVID-19 vaccine pipeline. Excerpted from Five “P”s to Watch.
COVID-19 Vaccine Pipeline Snapshot
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.
The Race for a Coronavirus Vaccine
Will compressed and overlapping steps get a vaccine faster? The innovations advocated for in Vaccines development that are being employed in the COVID-19 response today include: running certain clinical trials in parallel instead of sequentially; gearing up manufacturing capacity before final study results are in and negotiating public/private commitments in advance to facilitate sustainable access to new vaccines.
Excerpted from Five “P”s to Watch.
Understanding COVID-19 Mathematical Models
This brief provides information on mathematical modeling for the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Intersections of HIV and COVID-19 in Real-Time
As the COVID-19 pandemic rages on across the world, the latest crisis is markedly reminiscent of the early days of HIV. And while the HIV epidemic is far from over, unrelenting activism, strong community engagement, partnerships and innovation are to thank for the strides the field has made towards controlling the epidemic.
Now, the response to COVID-19 is drawing heavily from these successes, and at the same time, forcing even more innovation on the HIV front.
In this episode of Px Pulse, we’ve compiled excerpts from two April webinars that offer unique perspectives on how COVID-19 and HIV are shaping one another. First, Mark Feinberg, CEO of IAVI, and Helen Rees, Executive Director of the Wits Reproductive Health and HIV Institute (Wits RHI), speak to COVID-19 vaccine development, and the role of the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovation (CEPI) in spurring vaccine funding and collaboration. We then turn to community engagement experts Sinead Delany-Moretlwe, Director of Research at Wits RHI, Vincent Basajja of the Uganda Virus Research Institute, Jau Nanyondo from Uganda’s Makerere University Walter Reed Project and Philister Adhiambo from the Kenya Medical Research Institute, who explain how HIV prevention trials are adapting in the wake of COVID-19.
Listen
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.
2020 Global Targets for Prevention Will Not Be Met: Now What?
With unmet UNAIDS “Fast-Track” targets for ending the epidemic now a reality, the field faces the sobering truth that we’ve been striving towards the 90-90-90 treatment targets without the same enthusiasm, focus and commitment to primary prevention targets.
In this episode of Px Pulse, AVAC’s Emily Bass and lead author of our report Now What? talks about AVAC’s blueprint for course correcting—bold leadership, smart target-setting for HIV prevention research and implementation, and multilayered prevention programs that are centered around people. She explains why the epidemic needs a sustained response and how leaders from the highest level down to the grassroots can demand accountability and reject a “business as usual” approach.
What’s All the Fuss About F/TAF? A Trailer for Action in 2020
What’s all the fuss about F/TAF for oral PrEP? The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved drug maker Gilead’s Descovy (also known as F/TAF) as daily oral PrEP in October 2019, with one notable caveat: the label excluded those who are at risk from “receptive vaginal sex”, indicating that more data is needed for the drug to be approved as HIV prevention for cisgender women. The FDA’s supplemental approval requires Gilead to conduct safety and efficacy trial in cisgender women on a timeline that aims for data by 2025.
In the aftermath of this approval, there are questions about the differences between these two forms of PrEP, what contribution F/TAF might make to the pipeline of prevention, and the vital role of stakeholder engagement as Gilead drafts the study protocol for a trial of F/TAF in women. We explore all this and more in this episode of Px Pulse.