New potential HIV vaccine succeeded on eliminating virus inside monkeys and may become a key to finding cure. United States scientists are now starting to make approach on making the vaccine applicable to humans.

Potential HIV Vaccine Now Starting

Oregon Health & Science University developed a candidate vaccine against HIV/AIDS with potential to clear up virus from infected patients. Recently, the newly developed vaccine worked successfully on primates carrying the Simian Immunodeficiency Virus or SIV which is the monkeys' version of HIV.

Research upon from the monkey trials shown possible capability on clearing up the virus from its host, completely.

"It's always hard to use the word 'eradication', but the animals were clearly functionally cleared. There was no evidence of the virus infecting them at all. It's the first time that's happened. It's a fairly big deal," said by Dr. Louis Picker, associate director of the OHSU Vaccine and Gene Therapy Institute, quoted by the BizJournals.

The research them challenged their HIV vaccine against the more aggressive form of the virus called SIVmac239 which is 100 times deadlier than HIV in humans. SIVmac239 can kill a monkey within two years compared to the HIV that may last up to twenty years or so before causing AIDS.

CMV or cytomegalovirus is the basis of the new vaccine which belongs to the herpes group of viruses. CMV's infectious capability was used to immediately sweep across the entire body, carrying modifications which activate the immune system to kill SIV.

Human clinical trials would be the challenging step on the new vaccine which may take from 2 to 8 years before getting licensing for human use.

"It's a slow process, very painstaking. There is hope on the horizon but not on the short-term horizon. We're just at the beginning steps of an HIV cure. You've got to start somewhere and at least we know it's not impossible," Dr. Picker added.

Two Possible HIV Drug Approaching Soon

Researchers from the University of Western Ontario in Canada also made a big leap recently with their advancement on developing vaccine against HIV. Dr. Chil-Yong Kang and his team developed the new drug which already passed Phase I testing that brings hope as well on creating a cure for HIV.

Dr. Kang and his team based their new vaccine on genetically modified killed whole virus which follows the similar tradition of vaccines on other diseases such as polio, influenza, rabies and a lot more.

His team is currently preparing to take the next steps towards Phase II and Phase III clinical trials and if successful, the vaccine will become fully commercialised in five years.