Overview
- Membrane-bound mRNA HIV vaccine candidates induced neutralizing antibodies in 80% of trial participants versus 4% for soluble trimer formulations.
- The trial enrolled 108 healthy adults at multiple U.S. sites, each receiving three doses of a single vaccine construct over six months.
- Common side effects were mild and transient, but 6.5% of volunteers developed urticaria that improved with antihistamines and is under study.
- Vaccine design hides nonneutralizing regions of the HIV envelope protein to focus immune responses on conserved protective sites.
- Developers plan to optimize mRNA constructs to minimize skin reactions and assess antibody breadth against diverse HIV strains in larger trials.