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 The mid-stage trial failure highlights the challenges of vaccine
development, especially for HIV or human immunodeficiency virus,
which has no approved vaccines.
"HIV is a unique and complex virus that has long posed unprecedented
challenges for vaccine development because of its ability to attack,
hijack and evade the human immune system," Paul Stoffels, J&J's
chief scientific officer, said in a statement.
The study testing the vaccine included the participation of 2,600
women across five Southern African countries, where women and girls
accounted for over 60% of all new HIV infections last year.
The trial of the vaccine, which is based on the adenovirus design
which J&J's COVID-19 vaccine also uses, was supported by the U.S.
the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and the
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
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The study will not continue, based on the data, J&J said.
Participants in the study will be informed about the results and
told whether they received a placebo or the vaccine.
J&J said it is studying the safety and efficacy of a different
composition of the vaccine regimen among men who have sex with men
and transgender persons.
(Reporting by Manas Mishra in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)
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