Disappointing Data Scuttle Plans for Large-Scale AIDS Vaccine Trial

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON—The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has decided not to fund full-scale clinical trials of the leading AIDS vaccine in its pipeline. At a closed session held here at a 5-day AIDS conference,*60 investigators who have been evaluating the vaccine in a midsize human study learned that an interim analysis showed weaker-than-hoped-for immune responses against HIV. Even so, the U.S. military and the makers of the vaccine, in collaboration with researchers and officials in Thailand, are still planning to go ahead with a large-scale trial of a similar preparation, and Merck is working with NIH to move another vaccine into midsize trials.