A much-anticipated AIDS vaccine, the largest such research effort to date, has entered human trials with what the lead scientist Tuesday characterized as moderate results.
Merck Pharmaceutical Co. is spending an undisclosed amount of money on projects for creating a viable AIDS vaccine. The latest, very preliminary, results were presented at the Ninth Retrovirus Conference in Seattle Tuesday.
Overall, Merck's vaccines, which are used in various combinations, have not managed to raise in monkeys or people the sorts of immunity that could protect individuals against infection. The products, however, have shown promise in slowing the disease process in already infected animals.
Thirty weeks after initial vaccination, 42 percent of the volunteers who received the higher-dose vaccine were producing cellular immune responses against HIV.
