In the larger picture, the fight against HIV has been a triumph of modern medicine. A patient diagnosed with HIV in the 1980s had a remaining life expectancy of 1 to 2 years. In 2023, they can expect to live another half century. But so far, an HIV vaccine has remained elusive. In the newest phase III failure, Janssen Pharmaceutical Cos. of Johnson and Johnson closed down its Mosaico trial more than a year ahead of schedule, following a data and safety monitoring board’s (DSMB) report saying the study was not expected to hit its primary endpoint.
A year and a half gone, two HIV vaccine studies shut down. That’s the case with the Janssen Pharmaceutical Cos. of Johnson and Johnson as the phase III Mosaico study of its HIV vaccine regimen was not effective in preventing infection compared to placebo. Based on a data and safety monitoring board’s report saying the study was not expected to hit its primary endpoint, Janssen discontinued the clinical trial more than a year ahead of its estimated March 2024 completion date.
CYBERSPACE – Continuing improvements in HIV treatment and progress toward a cure notwithstanding, an effective vaccine will be necessary to gain the upper hand in the decades-long fight against the pandemic.
MEXICO CITY – Ten years after the RV144 "Thai trial" was the first to show that an effective HIV vaccine was possible, three efficacy trials for HIV vaccines are once again underway.