All set for 2nd leg AIDS jab trials

The 15 Chinese volunteers who received AIDS vaccine therapy during the weekend showed no ill-effects.

With 15 Chinese volunteers who received AIDS vaccine therapy during the weekend showing no ill-effects, scientists are preparing for the second phase of clinical tests to produce an indigenously-developed drug against the deadly disease, a health official said.

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This is the eighth and also the last group of 49 Chinese volunteers aged between 18 and 50 who have received the country's human trials of a new AIDS vaccine, which was first launched on March 12 this year in Nanning, capital of south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

"The first 24 hours are a vital period for observation," deputy director of the Guangxi regional disease prevention and control centre, Chen Jie said on Sunday.

"So far, no volunteers have reported ill reactions. They have entered a relatively stable period for observation," he said.

The clinical data will be obtained in June next year after the centre finishes observation of all volunteers, which will offer a scientific foundation for whether the centre can go on with the second phase of AIDS vaccine test, he said.

The clinical research will be phased out in three parts, he said, adding the second phase will test the immune nature and safety of the vaccine.

"So far the test has been going on smoothly, and we're considering the second phase test," he said.

The State Food and Drug Administration approved the first clinical phase research of the new AIDS vaccine on November 25, 2004.

As of January this year, there had been about 35 AIDS vaccine trials on humans throughout the world, most of which are still at the first phase.