Building Technical Capacity | Supporting Clinical Trials | Reaching Out | Sustaining Political Support |

With its manufacturing muscle and burgeoning pharmaceutical sector, China has the potential to play a vital role in the global AIDS vaccine effort. The country has, in fact, been an active participant since 1994, when United Biomedical, Inc. (UBI) led China’s first clinical trial to test a candidate vaccine against HIV. China has since developed its own candidate vaccines and launched two Phase I trials to evaluate them. At the same time, several research institutes in the country have stepped up their involvement in the field.

Although IAVI is not currently a partner in any AIDS vaccine trial in China, we established in 2004 a formal collaboration with Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences (CAMS) to support the country’s AIDS vaccine research and development efforts, mainly in the area of vaccine preparedness.

BUILDING TECHNICAL CAPACITY

IAVI stresses the cultivation of technical capacity to conduct vaccine development in the countries in which it operates. In line with that policy, we have helped CAMS establish a laboratory at its Institute of Medical Biology (IMB), in Kunming, that specializes in studying the immune responses provoked by vaccines.

We have also provided some training in Good Clinical Laboratory Practice (GCLP) to IMB personnel in Kunming and, more recently, have provided support to national level actors in lab assays and in GCLP.

SUPPORTING CLINICAL TRIALS

One of the most important elements of a vaccine development program is a clear and open line of communication between researchers and the communities in which they operate. Community Advisory Boards (CABs) play that role in AIDS vaccine development, and even help researchers to design their study protocols in a manner suitable to local conditions and cultures.

IAVI and CAMS have launched a CAB mapping project to hone mechanisms for community consultation in AIDS vaccine research. Findings from this project were shared at the second AIDS Vaccine Network meeting in 2007, when plans to better support and train CAB members were developed. At the 2008 meeting, IAVI and CAMS brought together people working on CABs from all over China to develop draft guidelines for the boards that take into consideration the social context and ground realities in which they operate.

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REACHING OUT

The AIDS vaccine effort would not be sustainable without the widespread support of communities where vaccine trials are conducted. IAVI partners with many organizations and agencies in China to boost awareness of AIDS vaccines and improve voluntary participation in their development.

In 2005, for example, IAVI, in partnership with CAMS, the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center (ADARC) and the Yunnan Province Center for Disease Control and Prevention (YNCDC), held a Vaccine Preparedness Workshop that drew participation from several global organizations working on AIDS related issues, as well as scientists, ethicists, journalists, and officials from Beijing and Guangxi Province. The workshop addressed the IAVI vaccine preparedness model and the lessons IAVI has learned from its experience in India.

To develop a shared agenda and improve coordination between scattered vaccine research groups, IAVI and CAMS convened in 2006 the first meeting of the AIDS Vaccine Network: an association of Chinese AIDS vaccine developers and representatives from global HIV organizations, government agencies and other research institutions. The meeting resulted in the creation of an AIDS Vaccine Preparedness Blueprint for China. This meeting has been held every year since 2006, and has brought together researchers, advocates, ethicists, social scientists and other stakeholders to review recent developments in China and update the national agenda for vaccine research.

Our broader advocacy and educational efforts in China include the translation into Mandarin and widespread distribution of the IAVI vaccine literacy manual, VaxLit Core Content, our VAX newsletter, the UNAIDS guidance document Ethical Considerations in HIV Preventive Vaccine Research, and several chapters of the AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalition AIDS Vaccine Handbook.

We also supported the development of a Chinese AIDS vaccine website to share information and resources about vaccine development efforts in the country.

Finally, in collaboration with Tsinghua University School of Journalism, IAVI hosted in 2007 a workshop for journalists on HIV and AIDS vaccine issues. The goal of this activity was to generate interest in HIV and AIDS vaccines among Chinese reporters, and support accuracy in reporting.

We have partnered with Tsinghua University’s Institute for AIDS Policy Research to conduct a workshop on Gender and New AIDS Prevention Technologies, bringing together people working on HIV prevention and treatment across China. The meeting resulted in a "call for action" to increase funding, and drew attention to research on promising new approaches to HIV prevention, such as microbicides and vaccines.

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SUSTAINING POLITICAL SUPPORT

High-level political support and sound policy are also essential to the AIDS vaccine effort.

In collaboration with CAMS and the Center for Bioethics at Peking Union Medical College, IAVI sponsored a one-day workshop on ethical issues in AIDS vaccine research at the 8th World Congress of Bioethics, which was held in Beijing. Speakers discussed the ethics of AIDS vaccine research, including adequate standards of care, assuring the informed consent and the role of CABs, among other things. The meeting resulted in the publication of a reference resource, Ethical Issues in AIDS Vaccine Clinical Research.

In 2007, IAVI and UNAIDS convened a workshop in Beijing on AIDS Vaccine Policy Issues. Approximately 30 participants gathered at local U.N. offices to learn about IAVI’s program in China.