Our mission is to ensure the development of preventive AIDS vaccines that are not only safe and effective, but also accessible to all people. To that end, IAVI invests the bulk of its resources in the research and clinical assessment of candidate vaccines against strains of HIV that are prevalent in the developing world, where some 95% of new HIV infections occur.
Our scientific team works with more than 50 academic, commercial and government institutions to develop and assess candidate HIV vaccines. Over the last decade, IAVI and its partners in Africa and elsewhere have developed 21 HIV vaccine candidates, and evaluated 12 of these in early-stage human trials in 11 countries in Asia, Africa, Europe and North America. In total, IAVI and partners have conducted 24 HIV vaccine trials. To do this critical work, we, together with local research institutions, have developed a network of sophisticated laboratories in India and in southern and eastern Africa. Our Human Immunobiology Laboratory in London helps coordinate the work of these labs.
In the arena of vaccine design, we have brought leading HIV researchers together into scientific consortia—including the the Neutralizing Antibody Consortium (NAC) and the Vectors Consortium—to address key obstacles to the development of an effective AIDS vaccine and to generate novel candidates.
In developing countries, we work closely with governmental, community and civic organizations to ensure the transparent and ethical conduct of clinical trials. To that end, we support the staffing and training of Community Advisory Boards, which represent the communities in which clinical trials are conducted and help design trial protocols. We help educate people about vaccine trials and the need for AIDS vaccines. And we help build both the clinical and scientific capacity required to run a long-term program of vaccine trials.
We also analyze and develop policies to promote the involvement of the private sector in AIDS vaccine research and development. And we advocate for policies that will ensure that once an AIDS vaccine is developed, it will be swiftly produced, distributed and made affordable worldwide.