Upbeat at the successful completion of clinical trials of an HIV/AIDS vaccine on first 10 volunteers in Pune, the Indian Council of Medical Research on Wednesday said if things go right the antidote for the dreaded disease will be available in the market five years from now.
"The Adeno Associated Vector Borne Vaccine which went into Phase I trials in Pune has been completed on 10 volunteers and their safety profile is very good," ICMR Director General Dr N K Ganguly told PTI.
The trial in India is part of a multi-country initiative of the same vaccine candidate. Trials are already on in Germany and Belgium and initial results have given excellent safety data.
The profile of these volunteers will undergo necessary evaluation before the next 10 cases are taken up for trials, Ganguly said.
"Ultimately 30 volunteers will be included in the first phase. Looking at the immunological response of these volunteers, it would be decided after a year whether to go in the next phase or not," he said.
As of now, India has 5 million people infected with AIDS virus.
The vaccine is designed to target HIV subtype C, the most common strain found in India accounting for over 90 per cent cases, Ganguly said adding that "for the clinical trial of second vaccine called 'MVA' in Chennai, we have sought clearance from Genetic Engineering and Approval Committee, which hopefully we would get in a month's time."
The MVA vaccine is scheduled to go into phase I trial between May and July this year, he said.