NEW YORK – The AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalition (AVAC) today responded to an announcement by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) that it would not be able to run a clinical trial of immune responses with the canarypox HIV vaccine candidate. “We are very disappointed that immunology results do not meet the HIV Vaccine Trials Network (HVTN) criteria to move ahead with a correlates trial,” said Chris Collins, Executive Director of AVAC.

The NIH also announced today that the highly regarded HIV vaccine research program based at the Department of Defense would be funded by NIH. “HIV vaccine research benefits from a diversity of efforts,” Collins said. “For years the DOD program has been engaged in directed research that well complements other efforts in government and industry. With support from the Thai government they intend to move forward with a more empirically based canarypox efficacy trial, which AVAC fully supports. As this program moves forward its accomplished military research team deserves to retain its scientific and operational independence.”

“Given these events, government and industry must now intensify their efforts on HIV vaccine research and development,” Collins said. “Today’s news must not become an excuse to abandon support for clinical trials or trial sites around the world. Ultimately, a series of large scale human trials of multiple candidate vaccines will almost certainly be necessary. It is essential that we continue to improve the clinical trials infrastructure needed to run these trials where the need is most intense, particularly in resource-poor countries where infections rates continue to be very high.”.

AVAC is a group of volunteer advocates, supported by a small professional staff, that has become a leading national voice on AIDS vaccines. In May of each year, AVAC releases a report analyzing the state of AIDS vaccine research and identifying needed actions in the public and private sectors to advance development and eventual delivery of vaccines for AIDS. AVAC also works to mobilize community support for AIDS vaccine research, develops and distributes educational materials, and advocates for expanded attention to AIDS vaccines in government and industry. AVAC staff and board members participate in a variety of national and international advisory boards shaping clinical trials, public policy, and communications strategies concerning AIDS vaccines.

Washington, D.C. – The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation today announced a grant of $600,000 over three years to the AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalition (AVAC). Founded in 1995, AVAC is a consumer-based advocacy organization working to speed development and delivery of AIDS vaccines to populations throughout the world.

AVAC also announced today the appointment of Chris Collins as its new Executive Director. “Expanded consumer-based advocacy is essential in order to accelerate development and delivery of vaccines for AIDS,” Collins said. “It is now clear that an AIDS vaccine is possible. The question is how soon we find it and who gets it when we do. Public support and engagement will be crucial in addressing many of the challenges in AIDS vaccine research and delivery. We thank the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for its continuing leadership on global health, and look forward to expanding our efforts with the foundation’s generous support.”

Collins is a cofounder of AVAC, and is currently a Principal with Progressive Health Partners, a health policy consulting company. He previously handled health policy and appropriations for Rep. Nancy Pelosi. He is the primary author of two University of California, San Francisco monographs: Sustaining Support for Domestic HIV Vaccine Research (1996) and The Policy of AIDS Vaccines (2001), and was the key architect of pending legislation to give incentives to industry to develop vaccines and microbicides against the globally most deadly infectious diseases. “The AVAC board couldn’t be happier that Chris Collins has agreed to lead AVAC. Chris is committed, superbly qualified and able to raise the organization’s profile and expand on its unique activities to help make a global preventive HIV vaccine a reality,” notes Bill Snow, a founding member of AVAC’s Board.

“Stopping the transmission of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, is the foundation’s number one global health priority,” affirmed Dr. Helene Gayle, senior advisor on HIV/AIDS for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. “Developing a vaccine for AIDS in the near term and focusing on prevention in the immediate term are our most pressing and promising imperatives. AVAC’s contribution to vaccine development and delivery is critical to our continued momentum and ultimate success.”

AVAC is a group of volunteer advocates, supported by a small professional staff, that has become a leading national voice on AIDS vaccines. In May of each year, AVAC releases a report analyzing the state of AIDS vaccine research and identifying needed actions in the public and private sectors to advance development and eventual delivery of vaccines for AIDS. AVAC also works to mobilize community support for AIDS vaccine research, develops and distributes educational materials, and advocates for expanded attention to AIDS vaccines in government and industry. AVAC staff and board members participate in a variety of national and international advisory boards shaping clinical trials, public policy, and communications strategies concerning AIDS vaccines.

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is dedicated to improving people’s lives by sharing advances in health and learning with the global community. Led by Bill Gates’ father, William H. Gates Sr., and Patty Stonesifer, the Seattle-based foundation has an asset base of $23.4 billion. For complete information, visit http://gatesfoundation.org/.