HIV-1 therapeutic vaccine: a ray of hope

The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) epidemic is still in its early stages, and a marked increase in global prevalence is projected for the next coming years. Neither behavioural therapies nor current antiretroviral drugs are likely to have an impact on this silent epidemic. Current antiretroviral drugs are too expensive for the developing countries, and there are major problems of adherence, resistance and toxicity, which limit their application and efficacy. The main problem facing us, as inhabitants of a single world, is to prevent further infections regardless of where they occur, and this requires a vaccine programme. A successful immunotherapeutic HIV vaccine has the potential to overcome these problems, and would be a valuable advance. To accelerate the development of an HIV vaccine, additional candidate vaccines must be evaluated in parallel in both industrialized and developing countries. This will require international collaboration and coordination and critical ethical issues will need to be addressed. The probable triple cocktail of the future for global HIV prevention will be vaccination, anti-retroviral therapy, and not the least, behavioural therapy.