Moderna initiates its first clinical trial for HIV vaccine

MASSACHUSETTS: Moderna and the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) initiated the first phase of their clinical study by administering the first doses of their experimental HIV vaccine.

The biotechnology company collaborated with the nonprofit to produce the new vaccination employing what is known as messenger RNA. The same revolutionary technology was utilised to generate Moderna and Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccines. As per the report, the current vaccine by Moderna functions by instructing human cells to generate proteins that initiate immunological responses against pathogens causing HIV.

This trial phase would determine whether the vaccine candidate can activate a specific type of white blood cells called B-cells and direct them to produce antibodies capable of neutralising many HIV strains and protecting humans against infection.