Duke University has announced a three-year, $2.9 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in support of efforts at the Duke Human Vaccine Institute to produce an HIV vaccine candidate.
 
The grant will fund formulation of the investigational immunogen, animal studies, and the production of a vaccine for use in a phase-one trial involving human participants. The vaccine candidate, a man-made lipid called a "liposome," is the product of recent research focused on designing HIV outer coat molecules that selectively bind to the right kind of antibodies to create a more lasting immune response.
 
"We are grateful to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to provide the funding for this important next step of our research," said DHVI director Barton Haynes, the study's principal investigator. "Our strategy is to develop vaccines that bind to neutralizing antibodies and avoid inducing less effective, non-neutralizing antibodies that are frequently seen in natural infections and with previous vaccine candidates. This funding will help speed our progress."