(a) whether further tests are being conducted for the HIV/AIDS vaccines developed by the scientists of our country;
(b) if so, the details thereof; and
(c) the number of scientists and details of the Research Institute involved in the aforesaid project?
MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) OF THE MINISTRY OF SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY AND MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) OF THE DEPARTMENT OF OCEAN DEVELOPMENT (SHRI KAPIL SIBAL)
(a)&(b) Under the National Jai Vigyan Science & Technology Mission launched by the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), a prototype candidate vaccine based on DNA and MVA (Modified Vaccinia Ankara) has been developed for HIV-1 subtype `C` at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi. This prototype vaccine has potential as preventive vaccine as it induces robust and broad based clade-specific and cross-clade specific immune response in experimental animals. The prototype vaccine is now ready for pre-clinical toxicological studies. If regulatory requirements are fulfilled, this vaccine candidate is slated for phase I human clinical trials. Negotiations with an Indian biotech firm are in progress for GMP grade production of vaccinogens for the human clinical trials.
In another effort, phase-I human clinical trial has been initiated using Adeno Associated Virus (AAV) based HIV/AIDS vaccine (tg AACO9) by National AIDS Research Institute (NARI), Pune on 7th February, 2005.Further, at the National Institute for Cholera and Enteric Diseases (NICED), Kolkata and the National AIDS Research Institute (NARI), Pune another HIV/AIDS vaccine candidate (MVA based) is under advanced stages of development. This vaccine is also slated for human clinical trials at Chennai shortly after the necessary scientific, ethical and regulatory clearances are obtained.
(c) Nine scientists alongwith their team from AIIMS, New Delhi; NARI, Pune; NICED, Kolkata; Tuberculosis Research Centre (TRC), Chennai; Indian Institute of Science (IISc.); Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR), Bangalore and International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB), New Delhi are the active groups involved in the vaccine development and related field.