In 2006, IAVI and its Neutralizing Antibody Consortium launched the Protocol G project to search for broadly neutralizing antibodies (bnAbs) against HIV, partnering with clinical research centers in Africa, India, Thailand, Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. More than 2,100 healthy, HIV-positive volunteers contributed blood samples to be screened. In 2009, scientists from IAVI, The Scripps Research Institute, and Theraclone Sciences collaborated to isolate and characterize the first new bnAbs to HIV seen in a decade and the first to be isolated from donors in developing countries, where the majority of new HIV infections occur. To date, more than 80 new bnAbs have been isolated and characterized from Protocol G specimens, and many have been shared with researchers across the AIDS vaccine field.
Type: Prevalence/cross-sectional. Single visit of adults with HIV infection for 3+ years with no significant health issues. Those whose screened serum showed neutralizing activity were asked to come back for further testing and follow up. Approximately 2,100 enrolled.
Enrollment Status: Closed
Countries: Australia; India; Ivory Coast; Kenya; Nigeria; Rwanda; South Africa; Thailand; Uganda; United Kingdom; United States; Zambia
Partners: Uganda Virus Research Institute-IAVI, Entebbe, Uganda; Center for Family Health Research in Zambia, Lusaka and Ndola; Projet San Francisco Center for Family Health Research, Kigali, Rwanda; KAVI-Institute of Clinical Research, Kenyatta National Hospital, Nairobi, Kenya; YRG Care, Chennai, India; Vaccine Trial Centre, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand; Centre de Diagnostic et de Recherche sur le SIDA et les infections opportunistes, Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire; Institute of Human Virology, Nigeria; National Serology Reference Laboratory, Australia; St. Stephen’s Centre, London, UK; SUNY Downstate Medical Center, Brooklyn, NY; Armed Forces Research Institute of Medical Sciences, Bangkok, Thailand
Study Summary:
To generate broadly neutralizing monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) from volunteers who are HIV infected and have broadly cross-reactive serum neutralizing activity.