February 26, 2003	Wednesday	Zul Hijjah 24, 1423

WASHINGTON: The first AIDS vaccine to be tested in people may offer more protection to blacks and Asians than to other groups, vaccine-maker VaxGen Inc. said on Monday.

Long-awaited results from VaxGen’s trial of AIDSVAX show the vaccine only reduced the rate of HIV infection by 3.8 per cent in 5,400 men and women considered at high risk, VaxGen said in a statement.

Dr Seth Berkley, president and CEO of the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative, called the announcement “disappointing.”

When VaxGen’s figures were analyzed closely, they showed that Asians and blacks who got the vaccine had a 67 per cent lower rate of infection that those who got a placebo shot.

“There were 78 per cent fewer HIV infections among black volunteers who received vaccine compared to placebo recipients,” the Brisbane, California-based company added in a statement.

The company said it hoped this might be a first step toward fighting a virus that has killed 28 million people worldwide and infects 40 million now.

“This is the first time we have specific numbers to suggest that a vaccine has prevented HIV infection in humans,” Phillip Berman, VaxGen’s senior vice president of research and development, said in the statement.

There were only 314 blacks and a total of 498 blacks and Asians in the trial, so the numbers are difficult to interpret. But they offer enough hope for the company to continue development of the vaccine, said Lance Gordon, chief executive of VaxGen.—Reuters