Remune is the first therapeutic

HIV vaccine An HIV vaccine is a potential vaccine that could be either a preventive vaccine or a therapeutic vaccine, which means it would either protect individuals from being infected with HIV or treat HIV-infected individuals. It is thought that an HIV v ...

based on the killed whole virus approach. Remune was initially invented by

Jonas Salk Jonas Edward Salk (; born Jonas Salk; October 28, 1914June 23, 1995) was an American virologist and medical researcher who developed one of the first successful polio vaccines. He was born in New York City and attended the City College of New Y ...

in 1987 and is now being developed by Immune Response BioPharma, Inc. (IRBP) Remune is a therapeutic HIV/AIDS vaccine that has completed over 25 clinical studies to date and shows a robust mechanism of action restoring white blood cell counts in CD4 & CD8 T cells by reducing viral load and increasing immunity. The FDA is currently reviewing IRBP’s BLA (biologics licensing application) for therapeutic treatment in people with HIV. Once the FDA approves the BLA, Remune will be the first therapeutic HIV vaccine brought to market. IRBP is set to submit its BLA with the FDA in early 2014. REMUNE granted FDA Pediatric Orphan Designation on Feb 14th 2014.

Vaccine Design

Remune is made of beta-propiolactone inactive

HIV-1 The subtypes of HIV include two major types, HIV type 1 (HIV-1) and HIV type 2 (HIV-2). HIV-1 is related to viruses found in chimpanzees and gorillas living in western Africa, while HIV-2 viruses are related to viruses found in the sooty mangabey, ...

which has been irradiated to destroy the viral genome. The vaccine, however, does not contain

gp120 Envelope glycoprotein GP120 (or gp120) is a glycoprotein exposed on the surface of the HIV envelope. It was discovered by Professors Tun-Hou Lee and Myron "Max" Essex of the Harvard School of Public Health in 1988. The 120 in its name comes from ...

surface antigen as it falls off on fixation of

. As a result, only

gp41 Gp41 also known as glycoprotein 41 is a subunit of the envelope protein complex of retroviruses, including human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Gp41 is a transmembrane protein that contains several sites within its ectodomain that are required fo ...

is remaining on the virion surface. Fortunately the initial clinical trial proved that a significant difference in clinical benefit between Remune vaccine and placebo with a decline in viral load P < 0.05 & HIV-1 lymphocyte proliferation P < 0.001 both favoring the Remune Group. The International AIDS Vaccine Research (IAVA) issued a report on “Whole Killed AIDS Vaccines” in 1999 reviewing a diverse aspect of the killed virus approach.[

Update

Trials of Remune have largely shown no benefit. Immune Response Corporation (IRC), one of the developers of Remune, tried unsuccessfully to block negative research findings. Pfizer pulled out of its partnership with IRC and there is now doubt about any further development of Remune.https://www.thebodypro.com/article/remune-bites-dust , Remune Bites the Dust . . . Again, by Enid Vazquez.

References

{{Reflist HIV vaccine research