July 14, 2003 HIV vaccine development is an area of intense
research, primarily for the prevention of HIV acquisition. These
vaccines are also being studied as a novel treatment strategy
for persons chronically infected with HIV and are termed
"therapeutic vaccines" when used for this purpose. To date, no
therapeutic vaccines have been proven to be useful for the
treatment of persons with HIV. Given that there are limited
research grants, the IAS conference organizers posed the
question, "Is there a prospect for a therapeutic vaccine?" Drs.
Yves Lévy and Jonathan Weber provided the pro and con positions,
respectively. Currently, antiretroviral therapy is administered
lifelong once it is started. Treatment interruptions are a
viable option only for people who started antiretroviral therapy
at a higher CD4 count, or only for brief periods. A therapeutic
vaccine would allow longer periods of time off antiretroviral
therapy, reducing toxicity and cost. A therapeutic vaccine could
be used in many different ways. I