Therapeutic vaccine trails in Thailand

An effective therapeutic HIV vaccine will not only benefit the HIV-infected person but will also provide invaluable information on effective immune response in designing or selecting a preventive vaccine. A phase II double-blind controlled clinical trial using HIV-1 immunogen (Remune) was undertaken in Thailand in 1995 in conjunction with phase III approval in the USA. In most instances, immune response to the virus was induced. The results from this study led to the extension of further trials over the following 4 years. At present, the Thai Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is in the process of reviewing the files on all information to assess the effectiveness of this therapeutic vaccine as well as reviewing the proposal to conduct a phase III trial to further confirm previous efficacy results from the phase II trials.