Moderna to Develop AIDS Vaccine Using COVID-19 Vaccine Technology

Nuba Apeyan, Moderna Chairman. [Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Donghyun Choi] Moderna has begun clinical trials for an acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) vaccine using messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) technology applied in its COVID-19 vaccine.

According to ABC News in the United States on the 28th, Moderna started the first phase of clinical trials for an mRNA vaccine aimed at preventing human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), which causes AIDS, the day before.

The clinical trial attracted 56 volunteers. The first phase volunteers were vaccinated with the vaccine candidate at George Washington University. Among them, 48 received the vaccine candidate one to two times, and among these, 32 were administered an HIV immune antigen delivery enhancer made using mRNA technology. The remaining 8 received only the enhancer. The research team plans to observe the volunteers for up to six months after vaccination to verify the vaccine's effectiveness.

Mark Feinberg, CEO of the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI), said, "We are very pleased to present a new direction for the HIV vaccine using Moderna's mRNA platform," adding, "Securing new means in terms of immune antigens and platforms could be the key to rapid progress toward an HIV vaccine."

Currently, about 38 million people worldwide are HIV carriers. However, there is still no vaccine. Over the past 40 years, several vaccine clinical trials have been conducted but have not succeeded.