Trump’s administration ends key HIV vaccine programme

The Trump administration has abruptly ended a $258 million research program focused on developing an HIV vaccine.

Scientists say this decision could undo decades of progress in fighting the virus.

Officials from the HIV division of the National Institutes of Health (N.I.H.) informed the program’s leaders at Duke University and the Scripps Research Institute on Friday.

The two institutions were working with multiple research partners. Their research also contributed to treatments for COVID-19, autoimmune diseases, and even snake antivenom.

“The consortia for HIV/AIDS vaccine development and immunology was reviewed by N.I.H. leadership, which does not support it moving forward.

“N.I.H. expects to be shifting its focus toward using currently available approaches to eliminate HIV/AIDS,” said a senior N.I.H. official who requested anonymity.

This termination is part of a broader series of cuts to H.I.V.-related efforts, especially prevention programs.

Separately, the N.I.H. paused funding for a clinical trial of an HIV vaccine developed by Moderna.

“I find it very disappointing that, at this critical juncture, the funding for highly successful H.I.V. vaccine research programs should be pulled,” said Dennis Burton, an immunologist who led the Scripps team.

Public health experts warn that the move could have severe consequences.

This week, the administration also held back funds meant for state and territorial HIV prevention efforts.

In Texas, the Department of State Health Services told grantees to “pause all activities until further notice.”

In Mecklenberg County, North Carolina, the local health department has already laid off 10 staff members.

Across Africa, countries are reporting major setbacks in controlling the epidemic.

“It’s just inconceivable how shortsighted this is,” said Mitchell Warren, executive director of the prevention group AVAC.

New HIV infections have declined since 2010.

Still, in 2023, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported 1.3 million new cases — including 120,000 children.

“The H.I.V. pandemic will never be ended without a vaccine, so killing research on one will end up killing people.

“The N.I.H.’s multiyear investment in advanced vaccine technologies shouldn’t be abandoned on a whim like this,” said John Moore, an H.I.V. researcher at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York.

In his first term, President Trump supported efforts to end the HIV epidemic in the U.S.

But his second administration has slashed funding for those same initiatives.

The N.I.H. terminated several grants related to PrEP — a preventive drug regimen that effectively stops HIV infection.

The administration also shut down the HIV prevention division of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

That division had provided funding to states and territories to prevent and respond to outbreaks.

Some responsibilities may shift to a new agency — the Administration for a Healthy America — but no details have been shared.

The Department of Health and Human Services has not responded to requests for comment.

In January, the administration also halted funding for the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).

PEPFAR is a $7.5 billion program that supplies most H.I.V. treatment in Africa and other developing regions.

Though the State Department later allowed treatment to resume through waivers, prevention funding was not restored.

Past vaccine trials have failed, causing some to question whether a traditional HIV vaccine is possible.

The Duke and Scripps teams were exploring a new path — focusing on broadly neutralizing antibodies.

These antibodies have shown promise in animal studies, providing protection against multiple HIV strains.

The program had been funded through seven-year awards granted in 2019.

Ongoing clinical trials may continue if funding for the HIV Vaccine Trial Network remains.

But without this foundational research, no new vaccine candidates will enter trials in the coming years.

“Almost everything in the field is hinged on work that those two programs are doing.

“The pipeline just got clogged,” Warren said.

(New York Times)

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