Recent Press Releases

NEW YORK - The AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalition (AVAC) today expressed disappointment that the second Phase III trial of an AIDS vaccine did not show efficacy of the candidate vaccine, AIDSVAX. The trial tested AIDSVAX among 2,546 injection drug users in Thailand.

NEW YORK - The AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalition (AVAC) yesterday applauded South Africa's Medicines Control Council for giving the go-ahead to a long-awaited Phase I clinical trial of the countrys first AIDS vaccine.

South African regulatory approval of the small safety study of the vaccine, made public today, clears the way for testing of the first HIV vaccine tailor-made to combat the particular strain of AIDS virus circulating in South Africa, which has 4.5 million people living with HIV, more than any other country.

NEW YORK - The AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalition (AVAC) today said it is encouraged by the announcement that Merck & Co. would team up with Aventis Pasteur to work on a potential AIDS vaccine.

"This partnership will bring together some of the most thoughtful scientific minds working on HIV vaccines at two of the largest vaccine manufacturers in the world," said Chris Collins, AVAC's Executive Director. "The AIDS vaccine field needs more willingness on the part of product developers to work collaboratively and share lessons learned."

NEW YORK - The AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalition (AVAC) today announced the appointment of Huntly Collins as its first Director of Science Communication and Advocacy. Ms. Collins was a respected staff writer at The Philadelphia Inquirer from 1983 to 2001, where she covered public health and AIDS among other issues.