According to a NIAID statement, an investigational vaginal gel that had demonstrated in earlier testing some potential for inhibiting male-to-female sexual transmission of HIV was ineffective when tested in a larger clinical trial. Please see the below attachment for the full statement.

The Microbicides Development Programme announced that its MDP 301 effectiveness trial, which was conducted among almost 9,400 women in four African countries, found no evidence that the PRO 2000 microbicide reduces the risk of HIV infection.

IN THE LIFE, a public television documentary series, released a special World AIDS Day episode entitled "Creating Solutions." This episode includes a special segment on the search for an AIDS vaccine. It features interviews with Anthony Fauci and Gary Nabel from the NIH; Sarah Schlesinger from Rockefeller University and Mitchell Warren of AVAC. If you live in the US, visit the following link to find out when the episode will air on your local station: http://www.inthelifetv.org/html/schedule.shtml.

The International AIDS Society in collaboration with the Centers for AIDS Research Program, U.S. National Institutes of Health, request concept proposals for a research grant program for early career investigators with no prior experience in HIV research. Please click the below link to learn more about the Creative and Novel Ideas in Research Awards Program.

To read the IAVI statement on World AIDS Day, please click the below link.

Alan Bernstein, executive director of the Global HIV Vaccine Enterprise and Jeannette Kagame, First Lady of the Republic of Rwanda and high representative of African AIDS Vaccine Programme, wrote a Guest Column for the special World AIDS Day edition of the Financial Times, which focused on the need for greater global collaboration, investments and more effective partnerships between the North and South. The full column is available below.

Mark Wainberg, the Director of the McGill University AIDS Centre, wrote an editorial for the Windsor Star applauding Canada in its early support of AIDS vaccine research and urging its continued leadership as a technical and funding partner. Click below for the full editorial.

Mitchell Warren, Executive Director of AVAC, wrote a piece for the Huffington Post calling for the celebration of the possibility of an AIDS vaccine. Please click here to read the piece http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mitchell-warren/celebrating-the-possible_b....

A Phase 1 study of a preventive HIV vaccine show that a novel delivery mechanism known as electroporation helped to enhance the immunogenicity of the vaccine tested. Results were presented at the end of October at the AIDS Vaccine Conference in Paris, France. Please see the IAVI and Ichor Medical Systems, Inc. announcement below for more information.

Visit the new AVAC web site: www.avac.org. The site contains AVAC’s comprehensive coverage of the full range of biomedical HIV prevention interventions in an easy-to-use format that is searchable by intervention and by topic like policy, ethics and community involvement in research.