The MRC Laboratories in The Gambia are to form a partnership with researchers in the Universities of Oxford (MRC Human Immunology Unit) and Nairobi, Kenya, to develop capacity for clinical trials of HIV vaccine candidates in infants, based in the Sukuta Health Centre in The Gambia.
This proposal, coordinated by Dr Tomas Hanke in Oxford and with Professor Sarah Rowland-Jones and Drs Katie Flanagan and Martin Ota as local PIs, was recently funded by EDCTP (European and Developing Country Clinical Trials Partnership), which will provide 3m Euros for the partnership over the next three years.

The aim is to test a vaccine strategy using a BCG vaccine (the current TB vaccine) that contains HIV antigens in newborn infants, boosted later in infancy with a modified form of the old smallpox vaccine (called MVA or modified vaccinia Ankara) that contains the same HIV fragments.

A similar strategy using BCG and MVA containing TB antigens, as a potential new vaccine strategy for TB, is currently being tested in Gambian infants in Sukuta by Dr Martin Ota.

The hope is that if these vaccines show promise in providing protection against these deadly infections they can one day be incorporated into the routine immunisation strategy of child health clinics in the Gambia and throughout Africa. EDCTP has recently called for proposals to develop clinical trials capacity to test new vaccines for TB and malaria which are also likely to involve researchers from the Gambia Unit.