AIDS vaccine trials enter second phase

An Atlanta-based biotech company announced Monday —- on World AIDS Day —- that it is launching the second phase of trials for its vaccine to prevent AIDS.

The trials for the GeoVax Labs vaccine will occur at 12 clinical sites, in collaboration with the National Institutes of Health and the HIV Vaccine Trials Network.

The company’s vaccine showed “excellent safety” in Phase I trials, said Harriet Robinson, GeoVax vice president of research and development.

Phase II trials, which will involve 225 patients, will be a broader test of the vaccine’s safety and effectiveness. The trials are likely to begin within the next six weeks.

GeoVax vaccines also may be effective in treating people already infected with HIV. Testing those therapeutic uses with HIV patients may speed its development as a vaccine to prevent the disease, said Bob McNally, president and CEO of the company.

GeoVax was created in 2001 out of Emory University research led by Robinson. Shares of GeoVax are traded over the counter.

The company announced the Phase II trials approval by the HIV Vaccine Trials Network on Monday, World AIDS Day, to highlight the company’s commitment to fighting the disease, McNally said.

World AIDS Day, a global awareness campaign, had its 20th anniversary Monday.

Around the world, more than 2 million people were infected in 2007 alone.

Globally, 33 million people are living with HIV infection, most of them in the developing world.