Wyeth gets $32 million NIH development contract for HIV vaccine

By Angela McDaniels

Seattle, Dec. 1 - Wyeth Pharmaceuticals said it has been awarded a five-year, $32 million contract from the Division of AIDS of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health, for the development of therapeutic HIV vaccines.

Wyeth will develop and evaluate adjuvant-enhanced plasmid DNA and peptide-based vaccines for use in a prime-boost therapeutic regimen to help treat HIV infection, the company said.

The Institutes of Health will provide the funding for direct costs associated with the design, manufacture and release of the clinical trial materials. Wyeth will contribute a minimum of $23 million of in-kind services.

The work will be in conjunction with researchers at the University of Pennsylvania, Duke University and Beth Israel/Deaconess Hospital in New York as part of the HIV Vaccine Design and Development Teams program.

The HIV Vaccines Trial Network, supported by National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, is conducting studies in HIV-negative subjects to determine the potential of this vaccine approach to prevent HIV infection.

In parallel, Wyeth will evaluate the vaccine approach in phase 1 clinical trials for their potential therapeutic benefit in HIV-infected individuals.

This is the third contract awarded to Wyeth by the Institutes of Health, the company said. Previously, Wyeth was awarded two five-year contracts totaling more than $37 million to evaluate two preventative HIV vaccine strategies.

Wyeth successfully completed the first contract by developing and manufacturing novel adjuvant-enhanced plasmid DNA and peptide-based vaccines. These prototype vaccines, which contain only a limited number of HIV antigens, are being evaluated in phase 1 clinical studies, the company said.

Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, a division of Wyeth, is based in Madison, N.J., and develops consumer and animal health care products.

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