HIV Vaccine Industry Partnership Group

Case study 1: Supporting small and medium-sized biotechnology companies

In 2023, the Vaccine group interviewed small and medium-sized biotechnology companies involved in a vaccine development project. The goals include gaining insights into the challenges faced by these companies in HIV vaccine research, identifying solutions to sustain innovative approaches, and promoting the creation of entities to drive progress in this field. 

As a result of these interviews, members published the viewpoint, “Biotech’s Role in Advancing HIV Vaccine Development”, in Emerging Microbes & Infections in 2024. The viewpoint explores the obstacles that biotech encounter, including funding difficulties, evolving HIV prevention methods and declining vaccine research interest, and proposes strategies to sustain biotech’s critical contributions.

Case study 2: Managing intellectual property in HIV vaccine R&D

The COVID-19 pandemic exposed challenges in vaccine-related intellectual property (IP), especially with mRNA technologies now central to HIV vaccine development.

The Vaccine group and Global HIV Vaccine Enterprise hosted a satellite session at HIVR4P 2024 exploring these IP challenges. The discussion emphasized early IP strategy, equitable licensing and leveraging public domain resources. The session concluded with a call for a balanced global IP framework to promote sustainable, equitable HIV vaccine development.

Case study 3: bNAbs: From prevention to cure

At IAS 2023, the Vaccine and Cure groups co-hosted a satellite event that focused on the high potential of broadly neutralizing antibodies (bNAbs) in prevention and cure of HIV. It also explored how the research and development of bNAbs for HIV prevention can contribute to their use in cure strategies. The satellite examined how efforts in the prevention and cure fields can be shared to develop bNAbs that benefit both areas of research. The session drew 130 participants, generating remarkable engagement: 10,558 impressions and 297 interactions on social media.

Case study 4: Strengthening industry engagement in HIV vaccine research and development

At AIDS 2022, the 26th International AIDS Conference, the Vaccine group hosted a satellite session to address barriers limiting pharmaceutical industry involvement in HIV vaccine research and development. Despite biomedical prevention advances, a safe, effective HIV vaccine remains critical to ending the pandemic, requiring renewed industry commitment.

The session highlighted lessons from the rapid COVID-19 vaccine response, demonstrating how strong partnerships between industry and public research can accelerate progress. Watch the satellite session here and find the report here.