The first participant in the ‘Brilliant 011’ first-in-human clinical trial for an HIV vaccine has been enrolled at the Desmond Tutu HIV Foundation (DTHF) site at Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town, South Africa.
The groundbreaking trial is being conducted by the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC), together with the DTHF and the Wits Health Consortium.
“The trial is testing two cutting-edge vaccine components – BG505 GT1.1 and 426c.Mod.Core-C4b – administered with the SMNP adjuvant.
“These state-of-the-art immunogens are the result of international scientific collaboration involving the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative, the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Centre, the Scripps Consortium for HIV-AIDS Vaccine Development, and Amsterdam University Medical Centres.
“The trial is . . . marking a major milestone in African-led HIV vaccine research.
‘Brilliant 011’ brings renewed hope that an HIV vaccine developed through African science, for African populations, is becoming increasingly possible,” the SAMRC says in a statement.
SAMRC sponsor representative Glenda Gray says: “Advances in HIV vaccine research and development place our team in a pivotal position to map immune responses to these novel vaccines to guide further development of this regimen.”
The Brilliant Consortium (Bringing Innovation to Clinical and Laboratory Research to End HIV in Africa Through New Vaccine Technology) is an initiative launched two years ago, and the study forms part of this consortium.
The consortium unites leading researchers from South Africa, Nigeria, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Mozambique, and is “notable for being predominantly led by African women scientists, with the SAMRC leading this first study”.
“Despite facing severe setbacks following United States funding cuts that threatened to derail the programme, the Brilliant Consortium has demonstrated remarkable scientific resilience.
“Through swift leadership action and the mobilisation of new investment, the team successfully preserved the integrity of the research and ensured that Africa’s first clinical trial under Brilliant could proceed,” the statement reads.
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