Researchers Launch Trial of mRNA Vaccines for HIV

August 25, 2021 • By Liz Highleyman

The International AIDS Vaccine Initiative and Moderna have launched a Phase I study of a pair of HIV vaccines that use the same messenger RNA (mRNA) technology as the highly effective Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines.

This open-label study (ClinicalTrials.gov NCT05001373) will evaluate two vaccine candidates dubbed mRNA-1644 (eOD-GT8 60mer mRNA) and mRNA-1644v2-Core (Core-g28v2 60mer mRNA).

The trial aims to enroll 56 healthy HIV-negative adults at low risk for acquiring the virus. They will be randomly assigned to receive one of the two vaccines or both in combination. In addition to safety, the study will evaluate whether the vaccines induce production of broadly neutralizing antibodies (nbAbs) that target various strains of HIV. The trial is expected to begin enrolling participants in September and to conclude in the spring of 2023.

The University of Texas at San Antonio; George Washington University in Washington, DC; the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle; and Emory University in Atlanta are also collaborating on the research.

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