A shot at AIDS

In the almost 35 years since the discovery of HIV, there has been great progress in developing effective treatments. More recently, there have also been advances in developing novel prevention strategies. Yet a vaccine that could prevent HIV infection remains elusive. Most licensed vaccines provide protection by inducing antibodies. For HIV, vaccine-induced antibodies must be capable of protecting against the multiple variants of HIV in circulation around the globe, so-called broadly neutralizing antibodies. Recent progress in the identification and characterization of such antibodies, as well as advances in designing candidates that stimulate cellular immunity and results from recent clinical trials are fueling efforts to develop an HIV vaccine that could vanquish the virus once and for all.