CONTACTAbout UsCAREER OPPORTUNITIESADVERTISE WITH USPRIVACY POLICYPRIVACY PREFERENCESTERMS OF USELEGAL NOTICE
© 2025 Equal Entertainment LLC.
All Rights reserved
All Rights reserved
By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
We need your help
Your support makes The Advocate's original LGBTQ+ reporting possible. Become a member today to help us continue this work.
Your support makes The Advocate's original LGBTQ+ reporting possible. Become a member today to help us continue this work.
Scientists at Merck and Co.'s vaccine research headquarters in suburban Philadelphia are testing two experimental HIV vaccines in early human trials. In earlier laboratory tests, the vaccines did not prevent monkeys from contracting a simian version of HIV but did control the virus in the animals so that the monkeys never developed AIDS. The company is now conducting 10 Phase I human studies involving 1,300 volunteers around the country. The studies will explore the vaccine's safety and record any immune response. Later tests will determine whether the vaccine prevents people from developing AIDS. Results from the Phase I trials are expected next year. If test results are promising, studies on the vaccine's effectiveness in humans could take another few years, until 2008 or 2009. Merck's lead vaccine uses a common-cold adenovirus to carry genetic material from HIV into the body in order to produce an immune response. In Merck's monkey studies, a "naked DNA" inoculation with an adenovirus booster produced the best immune response.
From our Sponsors
Most Popular
Watch Now: Pride Today
Latest Stories
Celebrated queer poet Andrea Gibson dead at 49
July 14 2025 6:25 PM
19 photos from 1990s San Francisco show the roots of butch and femme culture
July 14 2025 2:12 PM
Ellen DeGeneres shows unexpected support for Rosie O'Donnell in Trump feud
July 14 2025 12:19 PM
Florida Republican official suspended for social posts mocking Pulse murder victims
July 14 2025 11:41 AM