NIAID Public-Private Partnerships Seek to Develop HIV/AIDS Vaccine

NIH NEWS RELEASE
NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH National Institute of Allergy
and Infectious Diseases
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Sam Perdue
Tuesday, June 27, 2000 [phone]
sp [email protected]
NIAID Public-Private Partnerships Seek to Develop HIV/AIDS Vaccine
The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) announced today four novel
public-private partnerships to accelerate development of promising HIV/AIDS vaccines for use around the
world. The new partnerships, called HIV Vaccine Design and Development Teams (HVDDT), tap the
different skills and talents of private industry and academic research centers, and provide incentive to move
strong HIV/AIDS vaccine candidates out of the laboratory and into human testing. NIAID has committed to
spend approximately $70 million over the next five years on the four HVDDT contracts that have been
awarded.
The HVDDT program responds directly to President Clinton's call to increase public-private
cooperation in developing vaccines against globally important diseases such as AIDS, tuberculosis and
malaria.
"Many vaccines in use today resulted from both government-sponsored and private research,"
explains Anthony S. Fauci, M.D., director of NIAID. "The HVDDT program is a unique addition to this
model that encourages the private sector to increase their AIDS vaccine efforts while allowing NIAID to
work closely with its partners throughout the development process."
Designing and testing vaccines for diseases like AIDS is an expensive and scientifically complex
undertaking with no guarantees of success and little likelihood of significant profit. "The HVDDT program
encourages pharmaceutical companies to invest more in AIDS vaccine research by partially offsetting their
financial risk. In essence, HVDDT contracts 'prime the pump' to get the vaccine-production engine running,
including vaccine candidates for HIV subtypes that circulate in developing countries," explains Peggy
Johnston, Ph.D., assistant director for AIDS vaccines at NIAID:
HVDDT awards are incentive-based contracts aimed at vaccine candidates in the middle of the
development pipeline -- those not yet in clinical testing. Applicants were required to describe a clear

development plan, including timelines to indicate when different phases would be completed. Funding will
be provided in increments as these preset milestones are reached. "This goal-based incentive structure helps

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