Safety, Immunogenicty and Anti-Reservoir Activity of an Electroporation-Administered HIV DNA Vaccine Encoding GAG, POL and ENV Proteins With IL-12 Plasmid in HIV-Infected Adults on Antriretroviral Therapy.
Phase: PHASE1
Conditions: HIV-1-infection
Sponsor: Steven Deeks

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Clinical Research Protocol 
 
SAFETY, IMMUNOGENICITY AND ANTI-RESERVOIR ACTIVITY OF AN 
ELECTROPORATION-ADMINISTERED HIV DNA VACCINE ENCODING GAG, POL 
AND ENV PROTEINS WITH IL-12 PLASMID IN HIV-INFECTED ADULTS ON 
ANTIRETROVIRAL THERAPY 
 
Protocol Number: 
DAIDS-ES 38409 
Version Date: 
Version 2.1 
Investigational Product: 
Human Immunodeficiency Type 1 DNA Plasmid (gag, pol, 
env; E.coli; VGXI, Inc.; PENNVAX®-GP) Vaccine, with 
IL-12 DNA Plasmid (expressing p35 and p40 genes; E.coli; 
VGXI, Inc.) as Adjuvant, with Electroporation Device 
(Cellectra®; Inovio) 
IND Number: 
17795 
Development Phase: 
Phase I/IIA 
Sponsor: 
University of California, San Francisco 
Funding Organization: 
NIAID/NIH 
Principal Investigator: 
Steven G. Deeks 
Coordinating Center: 
UCSF Data Coordinating Center 
 
Approval: 
 
 
 
1/11/18 
PI or Sponsor Signature (Name and Title)  
 
Date 
This confidential information about an investigational product is provided for the 
exclusive use of investigators of this product and is subject to recall at any time.  
The information in this document may not be disclosed unless federal or state law or 
regulations require such disclosure.  Subject to the foregoing, this information may 
be disclosed only to those persons involved in the study who have a need to know, 
with the obligation not to further disseminate this information.   
 
 

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Protocol Signature Page 
 
I have read the protocol specified below. In my formal capacity as Investigator, my 
duties include ensuring the safety of the study subjects enrolled under my supervision, as 
outlined in the protocol.  It is understood that all information pertaining to the study will 
be held strictly confidential and that this confidentiality requirement applies to all study 
staff at this site. I will conduct the study in accordance with the provisions of this 
protocol and all applicable protocol-related documents. I agree to conduct this study in 
compliance with United States (US) Health and Human Service regulations (45 CFR 46); 
applicable U.S. Food and Drug Administration regulations; standards of the International 
Conference on Harmonization Guideline for Good Clinical Practice (E6); Institutional 
Review Board/Ethics Committee determinations; all applicable in-country, state, and 
local laws and regulations; and other applicable requirements (e.g., US National 
Institutes of Health, Division of AIDS) and institutional policies. 
 
 ______________________________________________________________________ 
Signature of Investigator of Record  
 
 
Date (Month/Day/Year) 
 
 
___________________________________  
 
Investigator of Record (PRINT NAME) 
 
 
 
Full Protocol Title: Safety, immunogenicity and anti-reservoir activity of an 
electroporation-administered HIV DNA vaccine encoding Gag, Pol and Env proteins 
with IL-12 plasmid in HIV-infected adults on antiretroviral therapy 
DAIDS Protocol Number: 38409 
DAIDS Protocol Version: 2.1 
Protocol Date: January 11, 2018   
 
 

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LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS 
 
ADDC 
AE 
Antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) 
Adverse event 
ALT 
Alanine aminotransferase 
AST 
Aspartate aminotransferase 
BUN 
Blood urea nitrogen 
ART 
Antiretroviral therapy 
ATI 
Analytic treatment interruption 
CRF 
Case report form 
CRP 
C-reactive protein 
DMC 
Data Monitoring Committee 
DSMB 
Data Safety Monitoring Board 
EP 
FDA 
Electroporation 
Food and Drug Administration 
GCP 
Good Clinical Practice 
GGT 
Gamma-glutamyl transferase 
HIPAA 
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 
ICH 
International Conference on Harmonisation 
IRB 
Institutional Review Board 
IM 
IV 
Intramuscular 
Intravenous 
PI 
Principal Investigator 
PK 
Pharmacokinetic 
PRD 
Participant Reminder Diary 
SAE 
Serious adverse event 

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PROTOCOL SYNOPSIS 
TITLE 
Safety, immunogenicity and anti-reservoir activity of an 
electroporation-administered HIV DNA vaccine encoding Gag, Pol 
and Env proteins with IL-12 plasmid in HIV-infected adults on 
antiretroviral therapy 
SPONSOR 
University of California, San Francisco 
PRINCIPLE 
INVESTIGATOR 
Steven G. Deeks, MD 
FUNDING 
ORGANIZATION 
NIAID/NIH 
NUMBER OF SITES 
Two (UCSF and UCLA) 
RATIONALE 
Durable control of HIV in the absence of antiretroviral therapy (a 
“remission”) will likely require potent and sustained HIV-specific 
CD8+ T cells that target conserved epitopes. VGX-3100 is an HPV 
DNA vaccine that generates sustained T cell responses which are able 
to traffic to an immunosuppressive tissue environment and clear virus-
expressing target cells. Remarkably, 49.5% of vaccinees exhibited 
histopathologic regression of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (as 
compared to 30% of placebo-recipients, P=0.03). A closely related 
electroporation (EP)-delivered HIV DNA vaccine (PENNVAX) has 
been studied for prevention and is known to be both safe and highly 
immunogenic. The therapeutic potential of this approach in HIV 
disease remains unknown and will be the focus of this study. 
The mechanisms which account for immune clearance and control of 
the HIV reservoir are not known. Based on observations made in 
“elite” controllers, clearance of HIV during ART and control of HIV 
post-ART will likely require the generation of sustained HIV-specific 
CD8+ T cells that target conserved regions and have potent cytotoxic 
and proliferative capacity. No therapeutic vaccine has yet 
demonstrated this capacity. 
Most vaccines developed specifically for cure research do not include 
the highly variable env gene or Env proteins for this reason; indeed, it 
is commonly assumed that the inclusion of this highly immunogenic 
region blunts immunologic response to more conserved regions and is 
hence detrimental. More recent data from studies of HIV prevention, 
elite controllers and so-called “post-treatment” controllers have 
argued that non-neutralizing Env-specific antibodies capable of 
stimulating antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) by 
recruiting NK cells and other effector responses may also be critical, 
suggesting that any effective therapeutic vaccine will need to generate 
responses to this protein. To date, there has been no randomized study 
evaluating the impact of Env antigens in a therapeutic setting. 

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STUDY DESIGN 
Cohort A: Randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled 
assessment of EP-delivered DNA vaccine targeting consensus 
multiclade HIV Gag/Pol antigens versus Gag/Pol/Env antigens (each 
administered with IL-12 DNA adjuvant) in HIV-infected adults who 
initiated ART during chronic infection.  
Cohort B: A single-arm study of the DNA vaccine targeting 
Gag/Pol/Env (with IL-12 DNA) in HIV-infected adults who initiated 
ART during acute HIV infection will also be performed. 
PRIMARY 
OBJECTIVE 
To determine the safety and tolerability of EP-administered 
gag/pol/IL-12 or gag/pol/env/IL-12 DNA plasmids in treated HIV 
disease. 
To determine the immunogenicity of EP-administered gag/pol/IL-12 
or gag/pol/env/IL-12 DNA plasmids in treated HIV disease. 
SECONDARY 
OBJECTIVES 
To determine the anti-reservoir activity of EP-administered 
gag/pol/IL-12 or gag/pol/env/IL-12 DNA plasmids in treated HIV 
disease. 
NUMBER OF 
SUBJECTS 
Cohort A, Randomized placebo-controlled clinical study of EP-
administered gag/pol/IL-12, EP-administered gag/pol/env/IL-12 and 
matching placebo in HIV-infected adults for whom ART was initiated 
during chronic infection: 15 per arm (45 subjects) 
Cohort B, Single arm study of EP-administered gag/pol/env/IL-12 
DNA plasmids in HIV-infected adults for whom ART was initiated 
during hyperacute and acute HIV infection: 15 subjects 
SUBJECT 
SELECTION 
CRITERIA 
Inclusion Criteria: 
1 Willing and able to provide written informed consent 
2 Male or female, age ≥ 18 and ≤ 65 years 
3 HIV-1 infection, documented by any licensed rapid HIV test 
or HIV enzyme or chemiluminescence immunoassay (E/CIA) 
test kit at any time prior to study entry and confirmed by a 
licensed Western blot or a second antibody test by a method 
other than the initial rapid HIV and/or E/CIA, or by HIV-1 
antigen or plasma HIV-1 RNA viral load. 
4 For Cohort A participants, ART initiated during chronic 
infection (e.g., more than 6 months after estimated date of 
infection, or as determined by site investigator and/or available 
medical records). 
5 For Cohort B participants, ART initiated during “hyperacute” 
HIV infection (Fiebig I/II) or early HIV infection (Fiebig 
III/IV). 

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6 On continuous antiretroviral therapy for at least 24 months 
without any interruptions of greater than 14 consecutive days, 
and on a stable regimen for at least 8 weeks, without plans to 
modify ART during the study period 
7 Screening plasma HIV RNA levels < 40 copies/mL on all 
available determinations in past 24 months (isolated single 
values ≥ 40 but < 200 copies/mL will be allowed if they were 
preceded and followed by undetectable viral load 
determinations) 
8 Screening CD4+ T-cell count ≥ 350 cells/mm3 
9 Creatinine Clearance (CrCl) > 60 mL/min via Cockroft-Gault 
method at screening 
10 The following laboratory criteria must be met at screening: 
 Absolute neutrophil count (ANC) ≥ 1000 
neutrophils/mm3  
 Hemoglobin ≥ 10.0 g/dL 
 Platelet count ≥ 100,000/uL 
 Aspartate aminotransferase (AST) ≤ 2x upper limit 
of normal (ULN) 
 Alanine aminotransferase (ALT) ≤ 2x ULN 
 
Exclusion Criteria: 
11 Pregnant, breastfeeding, or unwilling to practice birth control 
during participation in the study 
12 Active malignancy requiring systemic chemotherapy or 
surgery in the preceding 3 months or for whom such therapies 
are expected in the subsequent 6 months 
13 Active (untreated) HCV or HBV infection 
14 Decompensated liver disease as defined by the presence of 
ascites, encephalopathy, esophageal or gastric varices, or 
persistent jaundice 
15 Serious illness requiring systemic treatment and/or 
hospitalization in the 3 months prior to study enrollment 
16 Concurrent treatment with immunomodulatory drugs, and/or 
exposure to any immunomodulatory drug in the 4 weeks prior 
to study enrollment (e.g. corticosteroid therapy equal to or 
exceeding a dose of 15 mg/day of prednisone for more than 10 
days, IL-2, interferon-alpha, methotrexate, cancer 

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chemotherapy).  NOTE: use of inhaled or nasal steroid is not 
exclusionary. 
17 Serious medical or psychiatric illness that, in the opinion of 
the site investigator, would interfere with the ability to adhere 
to study requirements or to give informed consent. 
18 Active drug or alcohol use or dependence that, in the opinion 
of the site investigator, would interfere with adherence to 
study requirements or to give informed consent. 
19 Unable to undergo leukapheresis procedure 
20 Acute or chronic bleeding or clotting disorder that would 
contraindicate IM injections or use of blood thinners (e.g. 
anticoagulants or antiplatelet drugs) within 2 weeks of Day 0; 
21 Less than two acceptable sites available for IM injection 
considering the deltoid and anterolateral quadriceps muscles; 
22 Tattoos, keloids or hypertrophic scars located within 2 cm of 
intended treatment site; 
23 Cardioverter-defibrillator or pacemaker (to prevent a life-
threatening arrhythmia) that is located in ipsilateral deltoid 
injection site (unless deemed acceptable by a cardiologist); 
24 Metal implants or implantable medical device within the 
intended treatment site (i.e. electroporation area); 
TEST PRODUCT, 
DOSE, AND ROUTE 
OF 
ADMINISTRATION 
PENNVAX®-GP and INO-6145 are circular, double stranded, 
deoxyribonucleic acid consisting of synthetic plasmids that encode 
multi-clade consensus sequences from gag/pol and env genes 
(PENNVAX®-GP) or gag/pol only (INO-6145). HIV plasmids are co-
administered with an IL-12 plasmid by intramuscular (IM) injection 
followed by electroporation (EP) with CELLECTRA® 2000. 
DURATION OF 
SUBJECT 
PARTICIPATION 
AND DURATION OF 
STUDY 
Study products will be administered at Day 0 and Weeks 4, 8 and 12. 
Subjects will be observed on study for up to 64 weeks. 
 
CONCOMITANT 
MEDICATIONS 
No restrictions will be placed on the antiretroviral drug regimen. All 
subjects should be maintained on the same medications throughout the 
entire study period, as medically feasible.  
EFFICACY 
EVALUATIONS 
Using standard and innovative measures of immunogenicity, we will 
determine the capacity of our vaccine strategies to stimulate broad, 
functional T cell responses against novel HIV epitopes, and 
comprehensively characterize the impact of the vaccine on several 
innate and adaptive immune parameters. The size of the active and 

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latent reservoirs before, during and after vaccination will be 
measured. 
PRIMARY 
ENDPOINTS 
 Safety and tolerability 
 The magnitude and breadth of T cell responses will be 
evaluated by the IFN-γ enzyme-linked immunospot (ELISpot) 
assay. The breadth of Gag-specific responses will be 
characterized in detail via matrix mapping, while pools of 15 
overlapping peptides will used to evaluate responses to Pol, 
Env and Nef (internal control). 
SECONDARY 
ENDPOINTS 
 Frequency of circulating CD4+ T cells harboring replication-
competent HIV as measured using multiplex digital droplet 
PCR assay to quantify the total number of intact proviruses. 
OTHER 
EVALUATIONS 
 Magnitude of T cell responses to the most frequent potential T 
cell epitopes (PTE) for Env, Gag, Pol and Nef.  
 Polyfunctionality and cytotoxic capacity will be assessed by 
evaluating Gag-specific CD4+ and CD8+ T cell production of 
cytokines (IFN-γ, TNF-α, IL-2) and the cytotoxic molecules 
perforin and granzyme B 
 Phenotypic characteristics (e.g., PD-1, TIGIT, CD160, 2B4, 
Tbet, Eomesodermin, IRF4) of longitudinally studied pre-
existing and de novo vaccine-induced HIV-specific CD8+ T 
cell populations (as detected using MHC class I-specific 
tetramers) 
 Functional features of HIV-specific antibodies (ADCC, 
phagocytosis, complement-mediated destruction, neutrophil 
activation, and dendritic cell uptake) 
 Transcriptomic analysis of FACS sorted tetramer-detectable 
populations using RNASeq methods 
 Plasma HIV RNA (single copy assay), cell-associated RNA, 
cell-associated DNA 
SAFETY 
EVALUATIONS 
All subjects will be followed for possible adverse events (AEs) 
throughout their involvement in the study. Routine blood work will be 
performed on a regular basis. AEs will be graded according to 
Corrected Version 2.1 (July 2017) of the NIH/NIAID Division of 
AIDS Table for Grading the Severity of Adult and Pediatric Adverse 
Events. 
PLANNED INTERIM 
ANALYSES  
A Safety Monitoring Committee (SMC) will be convened and will 
meet biannually to review all adverse events and the conduct of the 
study. Serious adverse events will be monitored by the committee on 
an ongoing basis throughout the study. 
 
 

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TABLE OF CONTENTS 
 
1 
BACKGROUND 
11 
1.1 
Overview of PENNVAX-GP ............................................................................................. 11 
2 
STUDY RATIONALE 
13 
2.1 
Study Rationale and Hypothesis ........................................................................................ 13 
2.2 
Risk / Benefit Assessment .................................................................................................. 13 
2.3 
Program Overview ............................................................................................................. 13 
3 
STUDY OBJECTIVES 
15 
3.1 
Primary Objectives ............................................................................................................. 15 
3.2 
Secondary Objective .......................................................................................................... 15 
4 
STUDY DESIGN 
16 
4.1 
Study Overview .................................................................................................................. 16 
5 
CRITERIA FOR EVALUATION 
17 
5.1 
Primary Endpoints .............................................................................................................. 17 
5.2 
Secondary Endpoint ........................................................................................................... 17 
5.3 
Other Endpoints ................................................................................................................. 17 
6 
SUBJECT SELECTION 
18 
6.1 
Study Population ................................................................................................................ 18 
6.2 
Inclusion Criteria ................................................................................................................ 18 
6.3 
Exclusion Criteria .............................................................................................................. 18 
7 
CONCURRENT MEDICATIONS 
20 
8 
STUDY TREATMENTS 
21 
8.1 
PENNVAX®-GP and IL-12 Expression Plasmids ............................................................. 21 
8.2 
Concomitant Medications .................................................................................................. 21 
8.3 
Demographics and Medical History ................................................................................... 21 
8.4 
Clinical Assessment ........................................................................................................... 21 
8.5 
Physical Examination ......................................................................................................... 22 
8.6 
Clinical Laboratory Measurements .................................................................................... 22 
8.7 
HIV Clinical Laboratory Measures .................................................................................... 23 
8.8 
Cryopreservation of Plasma ............................................................................................... 23 
8.9 
Cryopreservation of PBMCs .............................................................................................. 23 
8.10 Collection of PAXgene specimen ...................................................................................... 23 
8.11 Pharmacokinetic Measurements ......................................................................................... 23 
8.12 Immunologic Measures ...................................................................................................... 23 
8.13 Virologic Measures ............................................................................................................ 24 
8.14 Leukapheresis ..................................................................................................................... 25 
8.15 Colorectal biopsy ............................................................................................................... 25 
8.16 Sample processing and specimen management ................................................................. 25 

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9 
EVALUATIONS BY VISIT 
26 
10 EXPERIENCE REPORTING AND DOCUMENTATION 
29 
10.1 Adverse Events .................................................................................................................. 29 
10.2 AE Severity ........................................................................................................................ 29 
10.3 AE Relationship to Study Drug .......................................................................................... 30 
10.4 Serious Adverse Events (SAE) .......................................................................................... 30 
10.5 Serious Adverse Event Reporting ...................................................................................... 30 
10.6 Unanticipated (Serious) Adverse Device Effect (UADE) .................................................. 30 
10.7 Medically attended adverse events ..................................................................................... 31 
10.8 Protocol Defined Important Medical Findings Requiring Real Time Reporting ............... 31 
10.9 Procedures for Documenting Pregnancy During the Trial ................................................. 32 
10.10 Reporting of Device Related Complaints or Deficiencies ................................................. 32 
11 CLINICAL MANAGEMENT ISSUES 
34 
12 DISCONTINUATION AND REPLACEMENT OF SUBJECTS 
35 
12.1 Early Discontinuation......................................................................................................... 35 
12.2 Withdrawal of Subjects from the Study ............................................................................. 35 
12.3 Replacement of Subjects .................................................................................................... 35 
13 PROTOCOL VIOLATIONS 
36 
14 STATISTICAL METHODS AND CONSIDERATIONS 
37 
14.1 Data Sets Analyzed ............................................................................................................ 37 
14.2 Safety Analysis .................................................................................................................. 37 
14.3 Data Analysis Plan ............................................................................................................. 37 
14.4 Sample Size and Randomization ........................................................................................ 39 
15 DATA COLLECTION, RETENTION AND MONITORING 
40 
15.1 Data Collection Instruments ............................................................................................... 40 
15.2 Data Management Procedures ............................................................................................ 40 
15.3 Data Quality Control and Reporting .................................................................................. 40 
15.4 Archival of Data ................................................................................................................. 40 
15.5 Availability and Retention of Investigational Records ...................................................... 41 
15.6 Monitoring ......................................................................................................................... 41 
15.7 Subject Confidentiality....................................................................................................... 42 
16 ADMINISTRATIVE, ETHICAL, REGULATORY CONSIDERATIONS 
43 
16.1 Protocol Amendments ........................................................................................................ 43 
16.2 Institutional Review Boards and Independent Ethics Committees .................................... 43 
16.3 Informed Consent Form ..................................................................................................... 44 
16.4 Publications ........................................................................................................................ 44 
16.5 Investigator Responsibilities .............................................................................................. 44 

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1 
BACKGROUND 
Although antiretroviral therapy (ART) decreases HIV-associated mortality, it does not appear to 
completely restore health, for reasons that remain unclear. In addition, while prevention 
approaches have seen some significant successes in the past few years, the epidemic continues to 
grow both locally and globally. Perhaps the only way to fully address these and other limitations 
is to effectively eradicate HIV from infected persons. While complete eradication may never be 
feasible, a “functional cure” in which patients are able to maintain undetectable viral loads 
indefinitely in the absence of therapy may be possible. The best evidence for this is the existence 
of “elite controllers” and more recently individuals treated during very early HIV infection 
(“post-treatment controllers”).  
Our program is based on the premise that durable remission in HIV disease will require 
generating a potent and sustained virus-specific CD8+ T cell response that is able to 
continuously clear and/or suppress virus-producing cells that arise from reactivation of the latent 
pool. Previous efforts to boost CD8+ T cell immunity in a therapeutic setting have largely failed, 
in part because the effector responses in vaccinated individuals were weak, transient, and 
targeted immunodominant epitopes that often have already escaped1,2. Given the dissemination 
of the viral reservoir and the rapid rate of virus spread during a treatment interruption, it is likely 
that the virus overwhelmed any vaccine-mediated T cell responses. 
Historical efforts aimed at “auto-vaccinating” HIV infected individuals with their own virus via 
scheduled treatment interruptions, aimed at priming more effective immunity and ultimate 
control of viremia, resulted in relatively disappointing results3. This failure is likely due to three 
major barriers. First, pre-existing immune exhaustion within the HIV-specific CD8+ T cell 
population may have hampered the induction of de novo highly effective responses. Second, 
exposure to autologous virus may have simply recalled immunity to highly immunodominant 
responses that had already failed due to the selection for escape mutations. Third, the number of 
effector cells able to contain a robust rebounding virus population may have been insufficient, 
thus allowing the virus to outpace the immune response (“too little, too late”).  
Our program is inspired by recent successes of a human papillomavirus (HPV) therapeutic 
vaccine (VGX-3100) delivered by electroporation (EP). In a randomized clinical trial of 167 
women with pre-malignant cervical disease, VGX-3100 - a DNA vaccine that targets HPV-16/18 
proteins - generated a potent and sustained CD8+ T cell response4. These cells were able to 
traffic to an immunosuppressive tissue environment and clear virus-expressing target cells. 
Remarkably, 49.5% of vaccinees exhibited histopathologic regression (as compared to 30% of 
placebo-recipients, P=0.03). To our knowledge, no prior therapeutic vaccine targeting a chronic 
viral infection in humans has achieved anything close to this outcome. A closely related EP-
delivered HIV DNA vaccine (PENNVAX) has been studied for prevention and is known to be 
both safe and highly immunogenic5. The therapeutic potential of this approach in HIV disease 
remains unknown, although a pilot study recently confirmed that the vaccine is safe and 
immunogenic in treated HIV disease6. 
1.1 
Overview of PENNVAX-GP 
PENNVAX®-GP is an admixture of SynCon® INO-6112 (env A/ env C) with SynCon® INO-
6145 (Mpol/gag). SynCon® INO-6112 consists of 2 plasmids encoding for synthetic consensus 
clade A and C HIV-1 Envelope proteins. This combination of SynCon antigens drive cytotoxic T 

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lymphocytes (CTL) against B clade as well.  SynCon® INO-6145 consists of 2 plasmids 
containing synthetic HIV-1 multiclade (A, B, C and D) consensus pol, and gag. The IL-12 DNA 
adjuvant (INO-9012) consists of a single plasmid containing a dual promoter system for 
expression of both the IL-12 p35 and p40 genes necessary for production of the active 
heterodimeric (p70) IL-12 protein. 

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2 
STUDY RATIONALE 
2.1 
Study Rationale and Hypothesis 
Millions of HIV-infected individuals are now receiving life-saving antiretroviral therapy.7  
However, mortality remains high, particularly in resource-limited countries.8 Moreover, chronic 
HIV-infected individuals demonstrate persistent immune activation despite ART-mediated viral 
suppression, which is an independent predictor of mortality in this setting.9  Given the current 
absence of an effective HIV vaccine, finding a cure for HIV will likely have a large impact on 
the long-term health of ART-treated HIV-infected individuals, in particular for those living in 
resource-limited settings.  
Based on these studies, we predict that exposure to a highly immunogenic heterologous DNA 
vaccine with an IL-12 adjuvant will generate robust CD8+ T cell responses against novel 
epitopes. Theoretically, having an “army” of such cells that are primed and ready to rapidly 
respond to an exponentially expanded virus population will be needed after ART is interrupted 
and at the time of virus rebound if the immune system is to get ahead of the virus and maintain 
its control. 
We additionally hypothesize that there will be differences in the HIV-specific T cell responses 
generated in vaccine recipients who initiated ART during acute HIV infection (Fiebig I-II and 
III-IV) compared to those who initiated ART during chronic HIV infection, due to presumed 
greater global immune function and fewer T-cell escape mutants in the viral reservoir with 
earlier initiation of ART. We expect potentially more functional and effective T cell responses, 
as well as differences in gag epitope responses, whether an increase in breadth of response or 
shift in responses to different epitopes. 
2.2 
Risk / Benefit Assessment 
There is no expected direct benefit for the study participant. The primary benefit is the gain in 
knowledge regarding a potentially effective intervention that may in future studies allow for a 
durable control of HIV in absence of therapy (a remission). The risk of participating in this study 
is minimal. The vaccine and the IL-12 adjuvant have been extensively studied in the past. The 
only known adverse events are local reactions, which are mild and transient. There is only a 
limited theoretical risk for significant adverse events. 
2.3 
Program Overview 
The central premise of our program is that durable control of HIV in the absence of antiretroviral 
therapy (“remission”) will require the generation of de novo potent and sustained HIV-specific 
CD8+ T cell responses that target evolutionarily conserved epitopes. Our program is inspired by 
the recent success of VGX-3100 (Inovio), a DNA therapeutic vaccine for HPV that leads to 
histopathologic regression of pre-malignant lesions in people and is associated with a potent, 
sustained boost to HPV-specific CD8+ T cell populations. A closely related gag/pol/env DNA 
vaccine administered with an IL-12 DNA plasmid (PENNVAX-B, Inovio) has been studied for 
HIV prevention and is known to be both safe and highly immunogenic. The therapeutic potential 
of this novel approach is unknown and will be the focus of our work in this protocol. In a 
randomized placebo-controlled study we will compare the immunogenicity and anti-reservoir 
activities of gag/pol DNA versus gag/pol/env DNA (both administered with IL-12). We will 
determine for the first time in established HIV disease whether presence of env in a DNA 

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vaccine blunts T cell responses to more conserved Gag-specific and Pol-specific epitopes. We 
will also determine if Env-specific responses (which will presumably be mediated by antibodies 
and ADCC) have a measurable effect on reservoir. Our study will leverage the considerable 
strengths of our established multi-disciplinary research team to pursue highly innovative 
approaches to measuring vaccine immunogenicity and the viral reservoir.  

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3 
STUDY OBJECTIVES 
3.1 
Primary Objectives 
 To determine the safety and tolerability of EP-administered gag/pol/IL-12 or 
gag/pol/env/IL-12 DNA plasmids in treated HIV disease. 
 To determine the immunogenicity of EP-administered gag/pol/IL-12 or gag/pol/env/IL-12 
DNA plasmids in treated HIV disease. 
3.2 
Secondary Objective 
 To determine the anti-reservoir activity of EP-administered gag/pol/IL-12 or 
gag/pol/env/IL-12 DNA plasmids in treated HIV disease. 
 

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4 
STUDY DESIGN 
4.1 
Study Overview 
Cohort A. We will perform a three-arm, randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled 
assessment of HIV DNA vaccine with IL-12 in 45 HIV-infected adults for whom ART was 
initiated during chronic infection. Participants will be randomized 1:1:1 to each of three arms:  
 Placebo administered by IM/EP at Day 0 and Weeks 4, 8 and 12 
 gag/pol and IL-12 plasmids administered by IM/EP at Day 0 and Weeks 4, 8 and 12 
 gag/pol, env and IL-12 plasmids administered by IM/EP at Day 0 and Weeks 4, 8 and 12 
Participants will be screened for eligibility. Individuals meeting inclusion criteria without 
meeting exclusion criteria will be enrolled in the study and randomized to one of three arms. 
Enrollment of participants in Cohort A with CD4+ T cell count nadir of <200 cells/mm3 will be 
capped at 50%. Participants will receive vaccine/IL-12 or placebo by electroporation at weeks 0, 
4, 8 and 12.  
Cohort B. A single arm study of EP-administered gag/pol/env/IL-12 DNA plasmids will also be 
performed in 15 HIV-infected adults for whom ART was initiated during hyperacute and acute 
HIV infection. We will seek to enroll 7-8 participants who initiated ART during Fiebig stages I-
II and 7-8 participants who initiated ART during Fiebig stages III-IV. All participants will 
receive Gag/Pol, Env and IL-12 plasmids administered by IM/EP at Day 0 and Weeks 4, 8 and 
12. Randomization will not be performed for Cohort B as the sample size of 15 would not 
provide adequate power to compare between arms and feasibility is low to enroll a larger cohort 
of individuals who initiated ART during acute HIV infection. The primary comparison for 
Cohort B will be to Cohort A, gag/pol/env/IL-12 arm.  
The primary and secondary endpoints will be safety, immunogenicity and anti-reservoir activity. 
The total duration of the study is expected to be 64 weeks. 

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5 
CRITERIA FOR EVALUATION 
5.1 
Primary Endpoints 
 Safety and tolerability 
 The magnitude and breadth of T cell responses will be evaluated by the IFN-γ enzyme-
linked immunospot (ELISpot) assay. The breadth of Gag-specific responses will be 
characterized in detail via matrix mapping, while pools of 15 overlapping peptides will 
used to evaluate responses to Pol, Env and Nef (internal control). 
5.2 
Secondary Endpoint 
 Frequency of circulating CD4+ T cells harboring replication-competent HIV as measured 
using multiplex digital droplet PCR assay to quantify the total number of intact 
proviruses.  
5.3 
Other Endpoints 
 Magnitude of T cell responses to the most frequent potential T cell epitopes (PTE) for 
Env, Gag, Pol and Nef.  
 Polyfunctionality and cytotoxic capacity will be assessed by evaluating Gag-specific 
CD4+ and CD8+ T cell production of cytokines (IFN-γ, TNF-α, IL-2) and the cytotoxic 
molecules Perforin and Granzyme B 
 Phenotypic characteristics (e.g., PD-1, TIGIT, CD160, 2B4, Tbet, Eomesodermin, IRF4) 
of longitudinally studied pre-existing and de novo vaccine-induced HIV-specific CD8+ T 
cell populations (as detected using MHC class I-specific tetramers) 
 Functional features of HIV-specific antibodies (ADCC, phagocytosis, complement-
mediated destruction, neutrophil activation, and dendritic cell uptake) 
 Transcriptomic analysis of FACS sorted tetramer-detectable populations using RNASeq 
methods 
 Plasma HIV RNA (single copy assay) 
 Cell-associated RNA 
 Cell-associated DNA 

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6 
SUBJECT SELECTION 
6.1 
Study Population 
Subjects with HIV infection who meet the inclusion and exclusion criteria will be eligible for 
participation in this study.   
6.2 
Inclusion Criteria 
1. Willing and able to provide written informed consent 
2. Male or female, age ≥ 18 and ≤ 65 years 
3. HIV-1 infection, documented by any licensed rapid HIV test or HIV enzyme or 
chemiluminescence immunoassay (E/CIA) test kit at any time prior to study entry and 
confirmed by a licensed Western blot or a second antibody test by a method other than the 
initial rapid HIV and/or E/CIA, or by HIV-1 antigen or plasma HIV-1 RNA viral load. 
4. For Cohort A participants, ART initiated during chronic infection (e.g., more than 6 
months after estimated date of infection, or as determined by site investigator and/or 
available medical records). 
5. For Cohort B participants, ART initiated during “hyperacute” HIV infection (Fiebig I/II) 
or early HIV infection (Fiebig III/IV). 
6. On continuous antiretroviral therapy for at least 24 months without any interruptions of 
greater than 14 consecutive days, and on a stable regimen for at least 8 weeks, without plans 
to modify ART during the study period 
7. Screening plasma HIV RNA levels < 40 copies/mL on all available determinations in 
past 24 months (isolated single values ≥ 40 but < 200 copies/mL will be allowed if they 
were preceded and followed by undetectable viral load determinations) 
8. Screening CD4+ T-cell count ≥ 350 cells/mm3 
9. Creatinine Clearance (CrCl) > 60 mL/min via Cockroft-Gault method at screening 
10. The following laboratory criteria must be met at screening: 
 Absolute neutrophil count (ANC) ≥ 1000 neutrophils/mm3  
 Hemoglobin ≥ 10.0 g/dL 
 Platelet count ≥ 100,000/uL 
 Aspartate aminotransferase (AST) ≤ 2x upper limit of normal (ULN) 
 Alanine aminotransferase (ALT) ≤ 2x ULN 
 
6.3 
Exclusion Criteria 
1. Pregnant, breastfeeding, or unwilling to practice birth control during participation in the 
study 
a. Acceptable birth control is defined as the following:  

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i. For female participants of childbearing potential, two of the following 
forms of contraception are required, one of which must be a barrier 
method:  
1. Condoms (male of female) with or without a spermicidal agent 
2. Diaphragm or cervical cap with spermicide 
3. Intrauterine device (IUD) with published data showing that 
expected failure rate is < 1% per year 
4. Tubal ligation 
5. Hormone-based contraceptive such as oral birth control pills 
ii. Male participants participating in sexual activity that could lead to 
pregnancy must agree to at least one reliable method of contraception of 
the above listed 
2. Active malignancy requiring systemic chemotherapy or surgery in the preceding 3 months 
or for whom such therapies are expected in the subsequent 6 months 
3. Active (untreated) HCV or HBV infection 
4. Decompensated liver disease as defined by the presence of ascites, encephalopathy, 
esophageal or gastric varices, or persistent jaundice 
5. Serious illness requiring systemic treatment and/or hospitalization in the 3 months prior to 
study enrollment 
6. Concurrent treatment with immunomodulatory drugs, and/or exposure to any 
immunomodulatory drug in the 4 weeks prior to study enrollment (e.g. corticosteroid 
therapy equal to or exceeding a dose of 15 mg/day of prednisone for more than 10 days, IL-
2, interferon-alpha, methotrexate, cancer chemotherapy).  NOTE: use of inhaled or nasal 
steroid is not exclusionary. 
7. Serious medical or psychiatric illness that, in the opinion of the site investigator, would 
interfere with the ability to adhere to study requirements or to give informed consent. 
8. Active drug or alcohol use or dependence that, in the opinion of the site investigator, would 
interfere with adherence to study requirements or to give informed consent. 
9. Unable to undergo leukapheresis procedure 
10. Acute or chronic bleeding or clotting disorder that would contraindicate IM injections or use 
of blood thinners (e.g. anticoagulants or antiplatelet drugs) within 2 weeks of Day 0; 
11. Less than two acceptable sites available for IM injection considering the deltoid and 
anterolateral quadriceps muscles; 
12. Tattoos, keloids or hypertrophic scars located within 2 cm of intended treatment site; 
13. Cardioverter-defibrillator or pacemaker (to prevent a life-threatening arrhythmia) that is 
located in ipsilateral deltoid injection site (unless deemed acceptable by a cardiologist); 
14. Metal implants or implantable medical device within the intended treatment site (i.e. 
electroporation area);  

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7 
CONCURRENT MEDICATIONS 
All subjects should be maintained on the same medications throughout the entire study period, as 
medically feasible.  
Subjects must provide their own antiretroviral drugs. No restrictions will be placed on the 
antiretroviral drug combinations. If medically feasible, study participants will be encouraged to 
remain on their entry antiretroviral regimen through week 64 of the study. 
Participation in the study will not interfere in any manner with the subject’s standard of care.  
Given the potential immune-modifying activities of the vaccine and IL-12 adjuvants, other 
immunodulatory drugs (e.g., cytokines, systemic corticosteroids, most biologics) will be 
discouraged if medically feasible. 
Routine or standard of care vaccinations (such as influenza, pneumococcal, and meningococcal 
vaccinations) are allowed but must be administered greater than 14 days prior to baseline 
leukapheresis and first (Day 0) protocol-administered vaccination and greater than 14 days prior 
to each of the week 14 and week 48 visits.  

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8 
STUDY TREATMENTS 
8.1 
PENNVAX®-GP and IL-12 Expression Plasmids 
PENNVAX®-GP is a circular, double stranded, deoxyribonucleic acid consisting of expression 
plasmids that encode synthetic HIV-1 multiclade consensus Gag, Pol and Env proteins. INO-
6145 is a circular, double stranded, deoxyribonucleic acid consisting of expression plasmids that 
encode synthetic HIV-1 multiclade consensus Gag and Pol proteins. The IL-12 DNA adjuvant 
(INO-9012) consists of a single plasmid containing a dual promoter system for expression of 
both the IL-12 p35 and p40 genes necessary for production of the active heterodimeric (p70) IL-
12 protein.STUDY Procedures 
Prior to conducting any study-related activities, written informed consent and the Health 
Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) authorization must be signed and dated 
by the subject. 
Blood collection will occur at all visits and will be timed to stay within Red Cross Guidelines 
(less than 500 mL every 8 weeks). 
SCOPE questionnaires will be administered for data collection and clinical assessments as 
described in Sections 9.1-9.3. 
8.2 
Concomitant Medications 
All concomitant medications taken within 30 days prior to screening and entry and a complete 
history of ART, HIV-1 related vaccines, and immune-based therapies will be documented at the 
Screening and Entry visits.  
At each subsequent visit, all additions or discontinuations of prescription medications should be 
recorded. Actual or estimated start and stop dates should be recorded.  
8.3 
Demographics and Medical History 
Demographic information (date of birth, sex, race and ethnicity) will be recorded at Screening. 
At Screening, the first Baseline visit (B1) and Entry (Day 0), the medical history must include all 
diagnoses within the past 30 days and, regardless of when the diagnosis was made, a complete 
history of chronic conditions, malignancies, and AIDS-defining conditions. Self-reported or 
documented nadir CD4+ T cell count should be recorded.  
Any allergies to any medications or their formulations should also be recorded. 
8.4 
Clinical Assessment 
Signs and Symptoms 
At pre-entry (leukapheresis), all grades of signs and symptoms that occurred 30 days prior to the 
visit must be recorded.  
At entry and all post-entry visits, all grades of signs and symptoms that occurred since the 
previous visit must be recorded. Duration (start and stop dates and times), severity/grade, 
outcome, treatment and relation to study drug will be recorded on the case report form (CRF). 
Criteria for participant management, dose interruptions, modifications, and discontinuation of 
treatment will be mandated only for toxicities attributable to the study medication(s). 

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Diagnoses 
All clinical events and new diagnoses or changes in diagnoses should be recorded.  
Subject Self Evaluation 
Subjects will be provided a Participant Reminder Diary (PRD, as shown in Appendix 1) and will be 
asked to record the following the evening of study treatment through Day 6:  
 
•  General symptoms of feeling unwell  
•  Pain and itching at injection site  
•  Measure redness, swelling, bruising at injection site  
•  Medications taken  
 
The completed PRD will be reviewed with the subject by the study staff at the next in-person visit.  
The study staff will review the PRD for general symptoms (e.g. malaise, fatigue, headache, nausea, 
and myalgia/arthralgia), injection site reaction symptoms (e.g. pain, erythema and edema), medical 
events and medications. All reported events will be assessed for clinical significance (CS) and 
reported as adverse events accordingly in the CRF. 
8.5 
Physical Examination 
Complete Physical Exam 
A complete physical examination should be conducted at screening. It is to include at minimum 
an examination of the skin, head, mouth, and neck, auscultation of the chest, cardiac and 
abdominal exam, examination of the lower extremities for edema, and Karnofsky performance 
score. The complete physical exam will also include resting vital signs (temperature, pulse, 
respiratory rate, and blood pressure), height and weight.  
Targeted Physical Exam 
A targeted physical examination should be conducted at each subsequent visit following 
screening. It is to include resting vital signs (temperature, pulse, respiratory rate, blood pressure) 
and weight, and is to be driven by any new signs or symptoms that the participant has 
experienced since the last visit.  
8.6 
Clinical Laboratory Measurements 
Hematology 
Complete blood count (hemoglobin, hematocrit, red blood cell count, white blood cell count, 
white blood cell differential, and platelet count) will be obtained at screening, the first baseline 
visit (B1), entry, and all post-entry visits. 
Chemistry 
Serum sodium, potassium, chloride, bicarbonate, random glucose, blood urea nitrogen (BUN), 
creatinine, aspartate aminotransferase (AST/SGOT), alanine aminotransferase (ALT/SGPT), 
alkaline phosphatase, total bilirubin, and albumin will be obtained at screening, entry, and all 
post-entry visits except week 64. Serum calcium will also be obtained at screening and Week 12.  
Pregnancy Testing 

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A serum or urine β-human chorionic gonadotropin HCG test (urine test must have a sensitivity of 
25 mIU/mL) will be obtained from female subjects with reproductive potential at screening and 
prior to each dosing visit (Day 0, Weeks 4, 8, and 12).  
8.7 
HIV Clinical Laboratory Measures 
Blood will be obtained and sent to a CLIA-certified or equivalent laboratory for real-time 
determination of absolute CD4+ and CD8+ T cell counts, percentages, and CD4/CD8 ratio and 
plasma HIV-1 RNA quantification (viral load) at Screening, B1, Entry, and Weeks 4, 14, 24, 36, 
48, 64, and premature discontinuation visits. All efforts should be made to have collection of 
blood for T cell counts occur between 8am and 11am, in order to account for diurnal variation in 
CD4+ T cell count.  
8.8 
Cryopreservation of Plasma 
Plasma will be collected and stored at the indicated visits. 
8.9 
Cryopreservation of PBMCs 
PBMCs will be collected and stored at the indicated visits.  
8.10 Collection of PAXgene specimen 
Whole blood will be collected in PAXgene tubes at the indicated visits.  
8.11 Pharmacokinetic Measurements 
No pharmocokinetic studies are planned for this study. 
8.12 Immunologic Measures 
T cell immunogenicity. T cell immunogenicity will be measured via several different assays, with 
laboratory personnel and those involved in raw data analysis blinded with regards to participant 
study arm and study time point. A comprehensive analysis of baseline peripheral blood T cell 
responses will be compared to newly-generated T cell responses detectable in PBMCs at the 
peak of the vaccine response (week 14 of the study, 2 weeks after the last dose of vaccine or 
placebo) to determine how the vaccine impacts the magnitude, breadth, phenotype and function 
of HIV-specific CD4+ and CD8+ T cell responses. In addition to this comparison (baseline 
versus peak), ELISpot assays will be performed on PBMCs from the memory time point (week 
48) to determine the magnitude and breadth of persistent vaccine-induced responses.  
Our main immunogenicity outcome will be to characterize the magnitude and breadth of T cell 
responses to therapeutic vaccination using the IFN-γ enzyme-linked immunospot (ELISpot) 
assay. The magnitude and breadth of Gag-specific responses will be characterized in detail via 
matrix mapping using vaccine-matched peptides, while pools of 15 overlapping peptides will 
used to evaluate the magnitude of T cell response to Pol and Env, as well as Nef (internal 
control). In addition, ELISpot responses to pools of Gag, Pol, Env, and Nef peptides (n=50 
peptides/pool) that have been derived from circulating HIV viruses (potential T cell epitope 
peptides, PTE; NIH AIDS Reagent Program) will be evaluated in parallel. All measures will be 
performed on two baseline PBMC samples.  

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Polyfunctionality and cytotoxic phenotype will be assessed by evaluating Gag-specific CD4+ 
and CD8+ T cell production of cytokines (IFN-γ, TNF-α, IL-2) and the cytotoxic molecules 
Perforin and Granzyme B, as well as degranulation (as evidenced by upregulation of CD107a) 
after short-term in vitro peptide stimulation6.  
Tetramer analysis of exhaustion phenotype. One of the major goals of HIV therapeutic 
vaccination is to determine whether it is possible to induce functional HIV-specific CD8+ T cell 
responses that are not exhausted. At the baseline and peak time points, we will characterize in 
more depth the phenotype and transcriptional state of existing and vaccine-elicited HIV-specific 
CD8+ T cell responses using MHC Class I tetramers. We will identify and follow longitudinally 
pre-existing and de novo vaccine-induced HIV-specific CD8+ T cell populations before and after 
vaccination, and characterize CD8+ T cell exhaustion in these populations by evaluating the 
expression of multiple well-established phenotypic markers of exhaustion, as well as their 
transcriptomic signature.  
Transcriptomic analysis of sorted tetramer+ cells. The Sekaly Laboratory will perform 
transcriptomic analysis of FACS sorted tetramer-detectable populations using RNASeq methods 
optimized and validated for small cell populations10 and analyzed using validated bioinformatic 
pipelines for gene expression analysis. Transcriptomic profiling of longitudinal samples will 
enable characterization of vaccine and cytokine adjuvants on host gene expression. In addition, 
consideration of the gene expression data within the context of the aforementioned immunologic 
measurements will allow us to identify specific host transcriptomic correlates of vaccine 
responsiveness. 
Antibody assays. The Alter Laboratory will perform a suite of functional assays covering a range 
of effector mechanisms (ADCC, phagocytosis, complement-mediated destruction, neutrophil 
activation, and dendritic cell uptake) carried out by a diverse set of innate effector cells 
(monocytes, NK, dendritic cells, and neutrophils) coupled to Systems Biology computational 
analyses11. This approach will be utilized to assess antibody functionality induced following 
therapeutic vaccination. This “Systems Serology” platform co-interrogates the biophysical 
features (antibody isotype/subclass and glycosylation), with all functional features to define the 
specific biophysical characteristics of both bulk and HIV-specific antibodies, creating a 
function:biophysical features map that may point to the specific antibody subpopulations that 
may 1) serve as biomarkers of enhanced reservoir control or 2) highlight mechanisms by which 
antibodies can contribute to control of the viral reservoir.  
8.13 Virologic Measures 
Ultrasensitive qPCR diagnostics will be used to quantify HIV RNA to single-copy levels.  
Cell-associated (CA) total RNA12 and integrated DNA13 will be quantified using qPCR assays 
where nucleic acid input is normalized to cell number.  
Since the mQVOA only detects intact proviruses that are induced by a single round of 
stimulation in vitro and replicate in MOLT cells14, the Siliciano Laboratory will use a novel and 
scalable multiplex digital droplet PCR assay to measure the total number of intact proviruses. 
This assay is based on studies in which a large number of patient-derived, full-length proviruses 
have been characterized at the level of individual provirus. 

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8.14 Leukapheresis 
Leukapheresis will be performed at Week -4 to -2 prior to entry and within 14 days after the 
Week 14 visit. The UCSF-based group already has an IRB-approved study in place which allows 
for leukapheresis to be performed on HIV-infected subjects (PI: Steven Deeks, MD, “The Use of 
Leukapheresis to Support HIV Pathogenesis Studies”, 10-03244). The UCSF Options/SCOPE 
teams have performed over 200 research leukaphereses on HIV-infected individuals without any 
adverse events, typically yielding 5-17x109 (average 8x109) total cells, more than sufficient for 
characterizing viral reservoirs in sorted Tn, Tscm, Tcm, Ttm, and Tem subpopulations15. 
Leukapheresis product collected at UCLA will be shipped to UCSF for processing.  
8.15 Colorectal biopsy 
The UCSF-based group already has an IRB-approved study in place (PI: Ma Somsouk, MD, 
“Impact of HIV on Gut-Associated Lymphoid Tissue,” 10-01218) which will allow for specimen 
collection and archiving of GALT samples.  Participants enrolled in this study at UCSF will have 
the option to participate (co-enroll) in the colorectal biopsy study at least 2 weeks prior to Day 0 
and approximately 2 weeks after the last vaccination (week 14). 
8.16 Sample processing and specimen management 
Within the UCSF SCOPE infrastructure, initial sample processing is performed on peripheral 
blood and leukapheresis units. All samples at UCSF and UCLA are tracked through Laboratory 
Information Systems, such as LDMS, or in-house systems with sample storage inventories, 
multiple report formats, and Institutionally-managed data storage and back-up systems.  
The SCOPE Program will use the AIDS Specimen Bank (ASB) for preserving and distributing 
study specimens. ASB provides an established infrastructure with expertise in specimen 
processing and storage. It has received >188,000 deposits and has distributed >192,000 specimen 
aliquots worldwide. Specimens are stored in ultra-low temperature freezers with back-up power 
systems, in which temperature is monitored by a programmable scanning alarm system wired 
into the university’s telephone system. 

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9 
EVALUATIONS BY VISIT 
Participants will be consented by the Principal Investigator or the research team before any 
procedures take place. All efforts will be made to have all visits occur between 8am and 11am, in 
order to account for diurnal variation in CD4+ T cell count and other assays and to allow for 
same-day shipping and storage of samples at the UCSF AIDS Specimen Bank. 
Once a participant is identified as potentially eligible by phone screening and is to be scheduled 
for a screening visit, a unique identifier (SCOPE ID) will be assigned.  Once a SCOPE ID is 
assigned, it cannot be reassigned to another subject. 
Subjects who satisfy all inclusion/exclusion criteria will be enrolled into the study, which is 
summarized in the Schedule of Events. 
 
 
S 
B1 
B2 
D0a 
W1 
W4a W8a W12a W14 W24 W36 W48 W64
Prem
ature 
D/C 
Window 
 
-4 to 
-2 
week
s 
 
+/- 3 days 
+/-7 days 
 
Vaccine/placebo  
 
X 
 
X 
X 
X 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Distribute PRD 
 
 
X 
 
X 
X 
X 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Review PRD 
 
 
 
X 
 
X 
X 
X 
 
 
 
 
 
Concomitant 
Medicationsc 
X 
X 
X 
X 
X 
X 
X 
X 
X 
X 
X 
X 
X 
Medical Historyc X 
X 
X 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Physical Exam 
X 
X 
X 
X 
X 
X 
X 
X 
X 
X 
X 
X 
X 
Clinical 
Assessmentc 
X 
X 
X 
X 
X 
X 
X 
X 
X 
X 
X 
X 
X 
Hematology 
X 
X 
X 
X 
X 
X 
X 
X 
X 
X 
X 
X 
X 
Chemistry 
X 
 
X 
X 
X 
X 
X 
X 
X 
X 
X 
 
X 
T cell count, 
plasma HIV RNA X 
X 
X 
 
X 
 
 
X 
X 
X 
X 
X 
X 
Pregnancy testing X 
 
X 
 
X 
X 
X 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Cryopreservation 
plasma 
 
X 
X 
 
X 
X 
 
X 
X 
X 
X 
X 
X 
Cryopreservation 
PBMCs 
 
 
X 
 
 
 
 
 
X  
 
X 
X 
X 
PAXgene tube 
collection 
 
X 
 
 
 
 
 
X 
 
 
X 
 
 

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Leukapheresis
 
X 
 
 
 
 
 
Xb 
 
 
 
 
 
Colorectal biopsy 
(optional) 
 
X 
 
 
 
 
 
X 
 
 
 
 
 
B=Baseline, D/C = discontinuation 
aParticipants should be contacted the day following each vaccination day to assess symptoms and 
response to injections 
bLeukapheresis should occur within 14 days after week 14  
cConcomitant Medications, Medical History, and Clinical Assessments will be assessed utilizing 
SCOPE questionnaires and study-specific forms at each indicated visit.  
  
 
Screen: All screening, enrollment, and consent procedures will be completed, including 
screening laboratory and clinical evaluations. All participants are assigned a unique four digit 
number. For those already enrolled in SCOPE, we will continue to use their existing number. 
New participants will be assigned a unique number during screening. Once a SCOPE ID is 
assigned, it cannot be reassigned to another subject. Hematology and chemistry laboratories 
will be performed. Plasma HIV RNA levels and CD4+/CD8+ T cell counts will be measured. 
Screening evaluations should be completed within 60 days prior to study entry.  
 
Week -4 to -2 (The first baseline (B1) visit): A leukapheresis will be performed. An optional 
gut biopsy will be scheduled and performed. Plasma HIV RNA levels and CD4+/CD8+ T 
cell counts will be measured. Hematology laboratories will be performed. Plasma will be 
collected and cryopreserved. A PAXgene specimen will be collected. 
 
Week 0 (Entry, B2 D0):  The second baseline visit will occur. Subjects will initiate 
randomized treatment. Study product (vaccine or placebo) will be administered by 
electroporation. Routine safety studies (hematology and chemistry laboratories) will be 
performed. Plasma HIV RNA levels and CD4+/CD8+ T cell counts will be measured. 
Plasma and PBMCs will be collected and cryopreserved. The PRD will be distributed. 
 
Day 1: Subjects will be contacted by telephone to check on symptoms and overall response 
to the injections. 
 
Week 1:  Routine safety studies will be performed. The Day 0 (first dose) PRD will be 
reviewed. 
 
Week 4:  The second vaccination will occur. Routine safety studies will be performed. 
Plasma HIV RNA levels and CD4+/CD8+ T cell counts will be measured. Plasma will be 
collected and cryopreserved. The PRD will be distributed. 
 
Week 4 + 1 Day: Subjects will be contacted by telephone to check on symptoms and overall 
response to the injections. 
 
Week 8:  The third vaccination will occur. Routine safety studies will be performed. Plasma 
will be collected and cryopreserved. The Week 4 (second dose) PRD will be reviewed and a 
new PRD will be distributed. 
 
Week 8 + 1 Day: Subjects will be contacted by telephone to check on symptoms and overall 
response to the injections. 

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 
Week 12:  The final vaccination will occur. Routine safety studies will be performed. The 
Week 8 (third dose) PRD will be reviewed and a new PRD will be distributed. 
 
Week 12 + 1 Day: Subjects will be contacted by telephone to check on symptoms and overall 
response to the injections. 
 
Week 14:  Routine safety studies will be performed. Plasma HIV RNA levels and 
CD4+/CD8+ T cell counts will be measured. A leukapheresis will be performed. Optional 
gut biopsy will be scheduled. Plasma will be collected and cryopreserved. A PAXgene 
specimen will be collected. All primary immunologic outcomes will be studied using 
specimens collected on this date. 
 
Week 24:  Routine safety studies will be performed. Plasma HIV RNA levels and 
CD4+/CD8+ T cell counts will be measured. Plasma and PBMCs will be collected and 
cryopreserved. 
 
Week 36:  Routine safety studies will be performed. Plasma HIV RNA levels and 
CD4+/CD8+ T cell counts will be measured. Plasma will be collected and cryopreserved. 
 
Week 48:  Routine safety studies will be performed. Plasma HIV RNA levels and 
CD4+/CD8+ T cell counts will be measured. Plasma and PBMCs will be collected and 
cryopreserved. A PAXgene specimen will be collected.  
 
Week 64: Hematology, plasma HIV RNA levels and CD4+/CD8+ T cell counts will be 
measured. Plasma and PBMCs will be collected and cryopreserved. All primary virologic 
outcomes will be studied using specimens collected on this date.  
 
Premature discontinuation: Routine safety studies will be performed. Plasma HIV RNA 
levels and CD4+/CD8+ T cell counts will be measured. Plasma and PBMCs will be collected 
and cryopreserved.  

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10 EXPERIENCE REPORTING AND DOCUMENTATION 
10.1 Adverse Events 
An adverse event (AE) is any untoward medical occurrence in a clinical investigation of a patient 
administered a pharmaceutical product and that does not necessarily have a causal relationship 
with the treatment.  An AE is therefore any unfavorable and unintended sign (including an 
abnormal laboratory finding), symptom or disease temporally associated with the administration 
of an investigational product, whether or not related to that investigational product.  An 
unexpected AE is one of a type not identified in nature, severity, or frequency in the current 
Investigator’s Brochure or of greater severity or frequency than expected based on the 
information in the Investigator’s Brochure. 
The Investigator will probe, via discussion with the subject, for the occurrence of AEs during 
each subject visit and record the information in the site’s source documents.  Adverse events will 
be recorded in the patient CRF.  Adverse events will be described by duration (start and stop 
dates and times), severity, outcome, treatment and relation to study drug, or if unrelated, the 
cause. 
10.2 AE Severity 
The Division of AIDS (DAIDS) Table for Grading the Severity of Adult and Pediatric Adverse 
Events, Corrected Version 2.1 (July 2017) (http://rsc.tech-res.com/clinical-research-sites/safety-
reporting/daids-grading-tables) should be used to assess and grade AE severity, including 
laboratory abnormalities judged to be clinically significant. If the experience is not specifically 
identified in the DAIDS grading table, the guidelines shown in Table 1 below should be used to 
grade severity.  All deaths related to an AE are to be classified as grade 5. It should be pointed 
out that the term “severe” is a measure of intensity and that a severe AE is not necessarily 
serious. 
Table 1.  AE Severity Grading 
Severity (Toxicity Grade) 
Description 
Mild (1) 
Mild symptoms causing no or minimal interference with usual 
social and functional activities with intervention not indicated. 
The subject may be aware of the sign or symptom but tolerates it 
reasonably well. 
Moderate (2) 
Moderate symptoms causing greater than minimal interference 
with usual social and functional activities with intervention 
indicated. 
Severe (3) 
Severe symptoms causing inability to perform usual social and 
functional activities with intervention or hospitalization 
indicated. 
Potentially Life-threatening 
(4) 
Potentially life-threatening symptoms causing inability to 
perform basic self-care functions with intervention indicated to 
prevent permanent impairment, persistent disability, or death. 
 

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10.3 AE Relationship to Study Drug 
The relationship of an AE to the study drug should be assessed using the following the guidelines 
in Table 2. 
Table 2.  AE Relationship to Study Drug 
Relationship 
to Drug 
Comment 
Related 
There is a reasonable possibility that the AE may be related to the study 
agent(s).  
Not related 
There is not a reasonable possibility that the AE is related to the study 
agent(s).  
10.4 Serious Adverse Events (SAE) 
An SAE is defined as any AE occurring at any dose that results in any of the following 
outcomes: 
 
Death during the period of surveillance defined by the protocol 
 
A life-threatening adverse experience 
 
Inpatient hospitalization or prolongation of existing hospitalization 
 
A persistent or significant disability/incapacity 
 
A congenital anomaly/birth defect  
Other important medical events may also be considered an SAE when, based on appropriate 
medical judgment, they jeopardize the subject or require intervention to prevent one of the 
outcomes listed.  
10.5 Serious Adverse Event Reporting 
Study sites will document all SAEs that occur (whether or not related to study drug or device). 
The collection period for all SAEs will begin after informed consent is obtained and end after 
procedures for the final study visit have been completed. 
All SAEs that are related to study drug or device will be reported. In accordance with the 
standard operating procedures and policies of the local Institutional Review Board 
(IRB)/Independent Ethics Committee (IEC), the site investigator will report SAEs to the 
IRB/IEC. SAEs will also be reported to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) per the 
reporting requirements specified by 21 CFR 312.32, with copy to the DAIDS Medical Officer 
(MO) and Inovio. Details of all related SAEs will be sent to the SMC and DAIDS MO no later 
than 3 reporting days after the investigators become aware of the event. For the purposes of 
expedited reporting to the SMC and the DAIDS Medical Officer, the definition of a “reporting 
day” in Version 2.0 of the DAIDS EAE Manual will be used. 
10.6 Unanticipated (Serious) Adverse Device Effect (UADE) 
A UADE is any serious adverse effect on health or safety or any life-threatening problem or 
death caused by, or associated with, a device, if that effect, problem, or death was not previously 
identified in nature, severity, or degree of incidence in the investigational plan or application 

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(including a supplementary plan or application), or any other unanticipated serious problem  
associated with a device that relates to the rights, safety, or welfare of subjects. Per the definition 
above, a UADE is a type of SAE that requires expedited reporting on the part of the Sponsor. 
The study team will assess each device related SAE to determine if anticipated based on prior 
identification within the investigational plan. 
10.7 Medically attended adverse events 
We will be using an IL-12 DNA adjuvant. This adjuvant theoretically might be associated with 
the induction of autoimmune or auto-inflammatory diseases. We will collect, analyze and report 
all data related to any medically attended adverse events (MAAEs), including potentially 
immune-mediated medical conditions (Appendix 2), through week 64 (one year after the last 
vaccine). The potential relatedness of any MAAE to the investigational product will be assessed. 
Any potentially vaccine-related immune-mediated medical condition will be categorized as 
unexpected. 
10.8 Protocol Defined Important Medical Findings Requiring Real Time Reporting 
Local reactions. Based on extensive experience with the study products, the only expected 
adverse events will be local discomfort and pain, which is always transient. Study subjects will 
be directly observed by study personnel for 30 minutes after each injection for immediate 
reactions. The occurrence and severity of any AE during this period or the lack of same will be 
recorded on the appropriate CRF using the DAIDS Table for Grading the Severity of Adult and 
Pediatric Adverse Events, Corrected Version 2.1, July 2017, Section on Site Reactions to 
Injections and Infusions. 
Local reactions of mild (Grade 1) or moderate (Grade 2) severity will usually resolve 
spontaneously. If needed, they may be managed with local application of cold packs, oral 
acetaminophen, oral nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agents, or a combination of these measures 
as appropriate.  
The protocol team will be notified of all Grade 3 or 4 local toxicities within 48 hours of 
occurrence for consideration of modification or discontinuation of immunizations. For example, 
if a subject develops an intolerable local swelling (Grade 3 on the pain/tenderness scale) during 
the 72 hours after immunization, the protocol team should be contacted. 
For Grade 4 local reactions, definitive medical and/or surgical intervention should be undertaken 
as appropriate.  
Blood drawing (venipuncture) risks. Drawing blood from a vein may cause some discomfort, 
bleeding, or bruising where the needle enters the skin, and rarely, fainting or infection may 
occur. Up to a total of 1500 mL (about 3 pints) of blood will be drawn over the entire study 
period. No more than 480 mL (2 cups) of blood will be drawn over any two-month period. This 
is within Red Cross Guidelines (less than 500 mL every two months). Risks of blood collection 
include anemia (low blood counts). Symptoms of anemia include tiredness, weakness and 
dizziness. Subjects will be checked for anemia at each visit. If the investigator feels that a subject 
is at significant risk for anemia, the amount of blood collected will be reduced. If hemoglobin 
falls below 9 g/dL or hematocrit falls below 27%, subjects will have 5 mL (1 teaspoon) of blood 
drawn to check hemoglobin and hematocrit. Other than the blood required to check hemoglobin 

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and hematocrit, subjects will not have more blood drawn until hemoglobin rises above 9 g/dL or 
hematocrit rises above 27%. 
10.9 Procedures for Documenting Pregnancy During the Trial 
Subjects who are pregnant or expect to become pregnant during the course of the trial will be 
excluded from participation in the trial. Should a subject become pregnant after enrolling in the 
trial, she will not be given any further treatments with study drug or device. A Pregnancy Form 
will be completed by the Investigator and submitted to the study team and DAIDS MO within 24 
hours after learning of the pregnancy.  The Investigator will also report this event to the IRB 
within 24 hours of becoming aware of the pregnancy. Sites must request the subject’s permission 
to query pregnancy outcome and follow each subject to determine the outcome of the pregnancy. 
When permission is received, subjects will continue to be followed for safety assessments to trial 
discharge per protocol. Results will be summarized in the clinical study report (CSR). 
Subjects who become pregnant at any point during the trial will continue to be followed for 
safety assessments without receiving further study drug or device. Procedures that are 
contraindicated during pregnancy, including additional treatments, must not be performed. 
Investigators should use clinical judgment regarding subsequent trial-related blood collection 
based on the presence or absence of anemia in each subject.  
All pregnancies that occur from the time of first screening procedure through the follow-up visits 
must be reported. The Investigator will monitor the subject and follow the outcome of the 
pregnancy. If the end of the pregnancy occurs after the trial has been completed, the outcome 
will be reported directly to the trial team and the DAIDS MO. 
Male subjects will be instructed through the Informed Consent Form to immediately inform the 
Investigator if their partner becomes pregnant until the end of follow-up period. A Pregnancy 
Form will be completed by the Investigator and submitted to the study team within 24 hours after 
learning of the pregnancy. Attempts will be made to collect and report details of the course and 
outcome of any pregnancy in the partner of a male subject exposed to study drug or device. The 
pregnant partner will need to sign an Authorization for Use and Disclosure of Pregnancy Health 
Information to allow for follow up on her pregnancy. Once the authorization has been signed, the 
Investigator will update the Pregnancy Form with additional information on the course and 
outcome of the pregnancy. An Investigator who is contacted by the male subject or his pregnant 
partner may provide information on the risks of the pregnancy and the possible effects on the 
fetus, to support an informed decision in cooperation with the treating physician and/or 
obstetrician. 
10.10 Reporting of Device Related Complaints or Deficiencies 
A product complaint/device deficiency is defined as any written, electronic, or oral 
communication that alleges deficiencies or inadequacies of the device or components related to 
the identity, quality, durability, reliability, safety, effectiveness, or performance of the device or 
components after it is released for distribution within the clinical investigation. All product 
complaints that meet this definition (with the exception of SAEs requiring 24 hr reporting) must 
be reported to Inovio with 10 days of discovery. 
Device Deficiencies include malfunctions, use errors and inadequate labeling. A malfunction is 
defined as the failure of a device to meet its performance specifications or otherwise perform as 

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intended. The intended performance of a device refers to the intended use for which the device is 
labeled or marketed. 
Any problems experienced during the treatment procedure including potential malfunctions of the 
device, error messages displayed on the device screen following treatment or errors that occur 
during the treatment procedure must be reported to the Sponsor or designee immediately for 
evaluation. The error reporting or complaint form must be completed and emailed to Inovio at 
clinicalcomplaint@inovio.com. 

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11 CLINICAL MANAGEMENT ISSUES 
Subjects may be offered topical anesthetic (e.g. EMLA or equivalent), to prevent significant 
discomfort from the treatment procedure. If a topical anesthetic is used, an approximately 1.5 cm 
diameter amount will be applied with occlusion to the site of injection ~30 minutes prior to 
treatment. Subjects may be offered a non-narcotic analgesic (e.g. ibuprofen, ketorolac) after 
injection/EP.  
Vaccination may be deferred for clinical or safety concerns such as febrile intercurrent illness at 
the discretion of the study investigator. Management of an individual participant should be 
determined by the study investigator with consultation with the study team.  

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12 DISCONTINUATION AND REPLACEMENT OF SUBJECTS 
12.1 Early Discontinuation  
A subject may be discontinued from study treatment at any time if the subject or the study team 
feels that it is not in the subject’s best interest to continue.  The following is a list of possible 
reasons for study treatment discontinuation: 
 Subject withdrawal of consent  
 Subject is not compliant with study procedures 
 Adverse event that in the opinion of the investigator would be in the best interest of the 
subject to discontinue study treatment 
 Protocol violation requiring discontinuation of study treatment 
 Lost to follow-up 
 Sponsor request for early termination of study 
 Positive pregnancy test (females) 
 Request for withdrawal by the subject’s regular doctor 
If a subject is withdrawn from treatment due to an adverse event, the subject will be followed 
and treated by the Investigator until the abnormal parameter or symptom has resolved or 
stabilized.   
All subjects who discontinue study treatment should come in for an early discontinuation visit as 
soon as possible and then should be encouraged to complete all remaining scheduled visits and 
procedures. 
All subjects are free to withdraw from participation at any time, for any reason, specified or 
unspecified, and without prejudice. 
Reasonable attempts will be made by the investigator to provide a reason for subject 
withdrawals.  The reason for the subject’s withdrawal from the study will be specified in the 
subject’s source documents. 
12.2 Withdrawal of Subjects from the Study 
A subject may be withdrawn from the study at any time if the subject, the investigator, or the 
Sponsor feels that it is not in the subject’s best interest to continue.   
All subjects are free to withdraw from participation at any time, for any reason, specified or 
unspecified, and without prejudice. 
Reasonable attempts will be made by the investigator to provide a reason for subject 
withdrawals.  The reason for the subject’s withdrawal from the study will be specified in the 
subject’s source documents.  As noted above, subjects who discontinue study treatment early 
should have an early discontinuation visit.  
12.3 Replacement of Subjects 
Subjects who withdraw from the study will not be replaced.   

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13 PROTOCOL VIOLATIONS 
A protocol violation occurs when the subject or investigator, fails to adhere to significant 
protocol requirements affecting the inclusion, exclusion, subject safety and primary endpoint 
criteria.  Protocol violations for this study include, but are not limited to, the following: 
 Failure to meet inclusion/exclusion criteria 
 Use of a prohibited concomitant medication 
 Failure to comply with Good Clinical Practice (GCP) guidelines will also result in a 
protocol violation.  
When a protocol violation occurs, it will be discussed with the study team and a Protocol 
Violation Form detailing the violation will be generated. A copy of the form will be filed in the 
site’s regulatory binder. 

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14 STATISTICAL METHODS AND CONSIDERATIONS 
Prior to the analysis of the final study data, a detailed Statistical Analysis Plan (SAP) will be 
written describing all analyses that will be performed.  The SAP will contain any modifications 
to the analysis plan described below.   
14.1 Data Sets Analyzed 
All eligible patients who are enrolled into the study and who initiate therapy will be included in 
the safety and efficacy analysis. Analyses will be conducted by both intention-to-treat (primary) 
and per protocol. Low rates of non-adherence to study treatment and loss to follow up are 
anticipated (no more than 1 per arm for each).  
14.2 Safety Analysis 
All subjects will be followed for possible AEs throughout their involvement in the study. 
Routine blood work will be performed on a regular basis. AEs will be graded according to the 
DAIDS Table for Grading the Severity of Adults and Pediatric Adverse Events, Corrected 
Version 2.1, July 2017 (http://rsc.tech-res.com/clinical-research-sites/safety-reporting/daids-
grading-tables). The Principal Investigator will review these data daily, assess their degree of 
severity, and make a relationship assessment to study agent/intervention. A study data 
coordinator will produce administrative reports after completion of each cohort describing study 
progress including the following: (1) accrual, (2) demographics, (3) study subject status, and (4) 
number and type of serious AEs. The Safety Monitoring Committee (SMC) will review study 
progress, efficacy data, all interim and total AEs, and unanticipated problems involving risk to 
participants. Reviews will be communicated to the UCSF and UCLA Institutional Review 
Boards, study sponsor, and/or federal agencies, as appropriate. The study will be discontinued if 
the SMC determines that it is in the best interest of the subjects. 
Safety will be assessed by tabulating specific SAE’s, SAE’s judged to be treatment-related, and 
the occurrence of any one or more SAE, and by comparing these rates between active and 
placebo participants; comparisons will be made using Fisher’s exact tests. 
14.3 Data Analysis Plan 
We will follow standard good statistical practices, including examination of summary statistics, 
assessment of model assumptions, examination and presentation of graphical depictions of the 
data, assessing the impact of influential data points, and interpretation that reflects the 
quantitative information provided by estimated effects and their confidence intervals, rather than 
an exclusive focus on whether or not p<0.05.   
Primary endpoints:  Counts and proportions of adverse events will be presented in frequency 
tables and characterized for each arm with 95% Clopper-Pearson Confidence Intervals. 
The magnitude of response at the follow-up will be presented based on appropriate measures of 
central tendency (mean or median) and variability (standard deviation or interquartile range) in 
the T cell responses in each treatment arm. Additionally, to assess presence of center – by – 
treatment interaction, the T cell responses will be described within each center by treatment 
arms. Comparisons will be performed based on appropriate test, independent samples t-test or 
Wilcoxon.    

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Breadth of response will be characterized by the proportion of participants with at least one 
additional epitope response at week 14 (2 weeks after last vaccination) compared to their 
baseline response. The observed proportion of participants with response in breadth so defined 
will be presented with 95% Clopper-Pearson Confidence Intervals for each treatment arm. The 
proportion will also be assessed within each center for each treatment arm to examine potential 
center by treatment interaction. Comparisons will be performed using Binomial exact test.  
Given stratification, we will compare T cell responses between strata within each arm. Should 
there be statistically significant differences between strata, subsequent analyses will be 
performed with adjustment, e.g. interaction, by strata.  
Similar analyses will be conducted comparing T cell responses in Cohort B with Cohort A, 
gag/pol/env+IL-12 treated arm, to assess the correlation between early ART initiation and 
response to vaccination. As feasible, we will also compare T cell responses within Cohort B by 
Fiebig stage.  
Secondary and the Other Endpoints: Descriptive analyses and inferences outlined for the Primary 
endpoints will be applied to the Secondary and the Other endpoints. Some measures, such as 
integrated DNA and cell-associated RNA, will likely be better modeled by negative binomial 
regression, as they tend to have a skewed distribution.  In addition, it may be desirable to account 
for the amount of input to the assays, which is readily done in negative binomial models by 
inclusion of an “exposure” variable. In these cases, and also when linear regression or t-tests of 
logarithmically transformed measurements are appropriate, we will report relative effects 
(percentage or fold).  Because nonparametric methods such as the Wilcoxon signed-rank test 
produce only p-values with no quantitative effect estimates, we will use these only as 
confirmatory analyses or when no quantitative analysis appears viable. 
Statistical analyses for all aims will follow standard good statistical practices, including 
assessment of model assumptions, checking for influential observations, and interpreting results 
in light of estimated effects and their confidence intervals, in addition to p-values. 
Trajectories of continuous measures evaluated longitudinally will be examined using mixed 
effects models with random slopes and/or intercepts, as appropriate. Similarly, categorical 
measures such as the number of “new” positive responses, the number of responses that remain 
negative, will be investigated in generalized mixed effects models. The models will be 
parameterized to address key issues, such as the difference in the speed of change in 
immunogenicity between the treatment arms through the interaction. Specifically, for many 
reservoir measures, we anticipate using negative binomial regression, because it can properly 
account for skewed distributions, observed values of zero, and varying amounts of input to the 
assays, while estimating relative effects (fold or percentage), which will be the most meaningful 
scale for many of the measurements. Whenever possible, we will also calculate and analyze a 
single summary measure over the entire treatment period for each person, e.g., the area under the 
curve and over baseline for immunogenicity measures over time. We note that the above 
approach can perform paired comparisons in the cases where the main interest focuses on the 
final measurement versus pre-treatment, although in those cases we will also employ simpler 
methods such as paired Student’s t-tests when feasible. 

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14.4 Sample Size and Randomization 
The objective of this study is to compare the safety, immunogenicity and anti-reservoir activity 
of PENNVAX-GP® (gag/pol/env)+IL-12 vs gag/pol+IL-12 vs placebo. Given experience with 
these vectors in the past, we do not expect to observe any significant adverse events. Also, given 
the lack of a latency reversing agent and a treatment interruption, an impact on the reservoir may 
not be possible. Hence, the virologic studies will be exploratory. Most of the analytic work in our 
program will hence focus on the extensive immunology that will be done before and after 
vaccination. 
Sample Size Considerations. The proposed sample size provides sufficient (80%) power to detect 
a difference between study arms in safety and tolerability measures with an effect of size 1.1 
[1.2] at the two-sided 0.05 [0.05/3, Bonferroni adjustment for multiple testing] significance level. 
The minimum detectable difference in comparisons of the baseline to the follow-up is 0.8 [0.9] at 
the two-sided 0.05 [0.05/3, Bonferroni adjustment for multiple testing] significance level. With a 
conservative estimate of one grade ≥3 adverse event, 95% CI for the proportion of one grade ≥3 
adverse events in non-placebo arms (n=45) is (0.00056, 0.118), in all arms (n=60) is 
(0.000,0.089), and the 95% CI in a single study arm is (0.0017, 0.32).  
With a more conservative estimate of two grade ≥3 adverse events, 95% CI for the proportion of 
grade ≥3 adverse events in non-placebo arms (n=45) is (0.005, 0.15), in all arms (n=60) is 
(0.004, 0.115), and the 95% CI in a single study arm is (0.017, 0.40). The same estimates apply 
to the tolerability proportions. Additionally, the proposed sample provides 95% assurance for the 
detection of at least one safety event if a true rate of occurrence is approximately 3%. 
A 95% Clopper-Pearson Confidence Interval for measures of safety and tolerability defined in 
terms of proportion of events is estimated to have length of 0.218 for zero events and 0.318 for 1 
event and sample size of 15 (one arm).  
For the analysis comparing breadth of T cell responses between any two arms, a sample of 15 
participants per arm achieves sufficient (80%) power to detect a difference in the proportion of 
participants with at least 1 epitope response that is ≥ 0.35 [0.45] at the two-sided 0.05 [0.05/3, 
Bonferroni adjustment for multiple testing] significance level using two-sample Binomial test of 
proportions. These calculations are performed with a conservative in terms of statistical power 
assumption that one response will be observed in the placebo arm by chance alone.  
A sample of 15 participants per arm achieves sufficient (80%) power to detect a difference in the 
magnitude of response between the treatment arms that is at least 1.1[1.2]*SD at the two-sided 
0.05 [0.05/3, Bonferroni adjustment for multiple testing] significance level. For paired before-
after comparison within an active arm the difference is 0.8[0.9]*SD at the two-sided 0.05[0.05/2] 
significance level. 
Use of repeated-measures analysis will improve power and precision. A recent study6 observed 
effects that are larger than the minimum differences for ≥80% power, thus demonstrating that 
our proposed study has high power for likely differences. 
Randomization and Stratification. For Cohort A, the three arm study of PENNVAX-GP® 
(gag/pol/env)+IL-12 vs gag/pol+IL-12 vs placebo in participants who initiated HIV treatment 
during chronic infection, participants will be randomized 1:1:1 within site and stratified on nadir 
CD4 <200 and ≥200 cells/mm3, using block sizes of 3.  
 

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15 DATA COLLECTION, RETENTION AND MONITORING 
15.1 Data Collection Instruments 
The Investigator will prepare and maintain adequate and accurate source documents designed to 
record all observations and other pertinent data for each subject treated with the study drug.   
Detailed interviews (as part of the existing SCOPE protocol) will be conducted at each visit, 
including questions regarding current medications, medication adherence, intercurrent illnesses, 
and hospitalizations. We will use the UCSF CHR-approved SCOPE questionnaires for this study 
(PI, Steve Deeks, MD, “Study on Consequences of Protease Inhibitor Era: A Prospective Study” 
10-01330). 
Subjects will not be identified by name in the study database or on any study documents, but will 
be identified by a four digit number. 
The Investigator is responsible for all information collected on subjects enrolled in this study.  
All data collected during the course of this study must be reviewed and verified for completeness 
and accuracy by the Investigator.  
15.2 Data Management Procedures 
The data will be entered into a validated database.  The Data Management group will be 
responsible for data processing, in accordance with procedural documentation.  Database lock 
will occur once quality assurance procedures have been completed. 
All procedures for the handling and analysis of data will be conducted using good computing 
practices meeting FDA guidelines for the handling and analysis of data for clinical trials. 
15.3 Data Quality Control and Reporting 
After data have been entered into the study database, a system of computerized data validation 
checks will be implemented and applied to the database on a regular basis. 
All data will be managed by the UCSF Data Coordinating Center in the Department of 
Epidemiology and Biostatistics. Issues related to data management, specimen storage, and data 
analysis will be directed by Dr. Jeffrey Martin, who co-directs the SCOPE cohort with Dr. 
Deeks. Study participants will complete an interviewer-administered questionnaire modified to 
support the unique aspects of our proposed study (including collection of detailed information 
regarding sexual activities in both the study participant, and his or her partners). The standard 
system is compliant with all Federal Government confidentiality guidelines.  
15.4 Archival of Data 
The database is safeguarded against unauthorized access by established security procedures; 
appropriate backup copies of the database and related software files will be 
maintained.  Databases are backed up by the database administrator in conjunction with any 
updates or changes to the database.   
At critical junctures of the protocol (e.g., production of interim reports and final reports), data for 
analysis is locked and cleaned per established procedures. 

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15.5 Availability and Retention of Investigational Records 
The Investigator must make study data accessible to the monitor, other authorized 
representatives of the Sponsor (or designee), IRB/IEC, and Regulatory Agency (e.g., FDA) 
inspectors upon request.  A file for each subject must be maintained that includes the signed 
Informed Consent, HIPAA Authorization Form and copies of all source documentation related to 
that subject.  The Investigator must ensure the reliability and availability of source documents 
from which the information on the CRF was derived. 
All study documents (patient files, signed informed consent forms, copies of CRFs, Study File 
Notebook, etc.) must be kept secured for a period of two years following marketing of the 
investigational product or for two years after centers have been notified that the IND has been 
discontinued.  There may be other circumstances for which the Sponsor is required to maintain 
study records and, therefore, the Sponsor should be contacted prior to removing study records for 
any reason. 
15.6 Monitoring 
Clinical site monitoring visits will be conducted by representatives of DAIDS according to the 
U.S. CFR Title 21 Parts 50, 56, and 312 and ICH Guidelines for GCP (E6). By signing this 
protocol, the Investigator grants permission to the Sponsor (UCSF), DAIDS, and appropriate 
regulatory authorities to conduct on-site monitoring and/or auditing of all appropriate study 
documentation. 
The study data manager and statistician will prepare a quarterly report of accrual, early study 
treatment and study discontinuations (and related reasons), baseline characteristics, Grade ≥2 
signs and symptoms, Grade ≥2 laboratory abnormalities and reported SAEs. Tables in the report 
will be based on the entire cohort of subjects and will not be stratified by treatment arm. This 
report will be reviewed by the study team, including the DAIDS MO or designee, on a quarterly 
basis.  
A Study Monitoring Committee (SMC) will monitor study progress and participant safety, with 
one member of the SMC designated to serve as an Independent Safety Monitor (ISM). 
Approximately 6 months after enrollment of the first participant and then biannually, the SMC 
will meet and review accrual (including screening and enrollment), AE summaries, including all 
reported Grade ≥3 AEs, retention of participants including off-study rates, and longitudinal 
summaries of HIV-1 RNA by commercial assay and CD4+ T-cell count. In addition, the SMC 
will review sample collection and availability summaries for viable PBMCs and plasma.  
In addition to the regularly scheduled reviews, the SMC will perform expedited reviews of the 
safety data, unblinded to treatment assignment, whenever any of the following happens:  
 Three or more participants have experienced a grade 3 AE that is deemed 
possibly, probably, or definitely related to study treatment  
 Two or more participants have experienced a grade 4 AE that is deemed possibly, 
probably, or definitely related to study treatment 
 Any death occurs on study that is deemed possibly, probably, or definitely related 
to study treatment 
 

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Whenever any of the events above occurs, enrollment into the study will be paused until the 
SMC review has taken place and a determination has been made that enrollment can resume. The 
SMC will recommend, based on the results of the review, whether the study can proceed as 
planned, proceed with modifications, or should be discontinued.   
The SMC may also be convened if a reason is identified by the study team, DAIDS MO, or study 
statistician. 
The SMC will review progress towards pre-specified benchmarks of enrollment and retention of 
subjects, completion of study procedures, and collection of viable samples. If progress towards 
any benchmark is not adequate, as determined by the SMC, the SMC will recommend protocol 
modification if necessary.  
Any recommendation for modification of the protocol will be made to DAIDS as well as the 
protocol team, and any amendment to the protocol will require DAIDS Clinical Science Review 
Committee (CSRC) approval. All updated versions of the protocol, IB, and related documents 
will be provided to the DAIDS MO and DAIDS Program Officer (PO).   
The DAIDS MO and DAIDS PO will receive all safety-related documents sent to the FDA at the 
time they are reported to the FDA or earlier. The DAIDS MO and DAIDS PO will also receive 
copies of any correspondence received from the FDA. 
 
15.7 Subject Confidentiality 
In order to maintain subject confidentiality, only a four-digit subject number will identify all 
study subjects on CRFs. 

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16 ADMINISTRATIVE, ETHICAL, REGULATORY CONSIDERATIONS 
The study will be conducted according to the Declaration of Helsinki, Protection of Human 
Volunteers (21 CFR 50), Institutional Review Boards (21 CFR 56), and Obligations of Clinical 
Investigators (21 CFR 312). 
To maintain confidentiality, all laboratory specimens, evaluation forms, reports and other records 
will be identified by a coded number and initials only.  All study records will be kept in a locked 
file cabinet and code sheets linking a patient’s name to a patient identification number will be 
stored separately in another locked file cabinet.  Clinical information will not be released without 
written permission of the subject, except as necessary for monitoring by the FDA and other local, 
US or international regulatory entities.  The Investigator must also comply with all applicable 
privacy regulations (e.g., Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, EU Data 
Protection Directive 95/46/EC). 
16.1 Protocol Amendments 
Any amendment to the protocol will be written by PI.  Protocol amendments cannot be 
implemented without prior written IRB/IEC approval except as necessary to eliminate immediate 
safety hazards to patients. Any amendment to the protocol requires CSRC approval. A protocol 
amendment intended to eliminate an apparent immediate hazard to patients may be implemented 
immediately, provided the IRBs are notified within five working days.  
16.2 Institutional Review Boards and Independent Ethics Committees 
The protocol and consent form will be reviewed and approved by the IRB/IEC of each 
participating center prior to study initiation.  Serious adverse experiences regardless of causality 
will be reported to the IRB/IEC in accordance with the standard operating procedures and 
policies of the IRB/IEC, and the Investigator will keep the IRB/IEC informed as to the progress 
of the study.  The Investigator will obtain assurance of IRB/IEC compliance with regulations. 
Any documents that the IRB/IEC may need to fulfill its responsibilities (such as protocol, 
protocol amendments, Investigator’s Brochure, consent forms, information concerning patient 
recruitment, payment or compensation procedures, or other pertinent information) will be 
submitted to the IRB/IEC.  The IRB/IECs written unconditional approval of the study protocol 
and the informed consent form will be in the possession of the Investigator before the study is 
initiated.  The IRB/IECs unconditional approval statement will be transmitted by the Investigator 
to any sponsor prior to the shipment of study supplies to the site.  This approval must refer to the 
study by exact protocol title and number and should identify the documents reviewed and the 
date of review. 
Protocol and/or informed consent modifications or changes may not be initiated without prior 
written IRB/IEC approval except when necessary to eliminate immediate hazards to the patients 
or when the change(s) involves only logistical or administrative aspects of the study.  Such 
modifications will be submitted to the IRB/IEC and written verification that the modification 
was submitted and subsequently approved should be obtained.   
The IRB/IEC must be informed of revisions to other documents originally submitted for review; 
serious and/or unexpected adverse experiences occurring during the study in accordance with the 
standard operating procedures and policies of the IRB; new information that may affect 

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adversely the safety of the patients of the conduct of the study; an annual update and/or request 
for re-approval; and when the study has been completed. 
16.3 Informed Consent Form  
Informed consent will be obtained in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki, ICH GCP, US 
Code of Federal Regulations for Protection of Human Subjects (21 CFR 50.25, CFR 50.27, and 
CFR Part 56, Subpart A), the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA, if 
applicable), and local regulations. 
The Investigator will prepare the informed consent form and HIPAA authorization and provide 
the documents to the Sponsor or designee for approval prior to submission to the IRB/IEC.  The 
consent form generated by the Investigator must be acceptable to the Sponsor and be approved 
by the IRB/IEC.  The written consent document will embody the elements of informed consent 
as described in the International Conference on Harmonisation and will also comply with local 
regulations. The Investigator will send an IRB/IEC-approved copy of the Informed Consent 
Form to the Sponsor (or designee) for the study file. 
A properly executed, written, informed consent will be obtained from each subject prior to 
entering the subject into the trial.  Information should be given in both oral and written form and 
subjects must be given ample opportunity to inquire about details of the study. If a subject is 
unable to sign the informed consent form (ICF) and the HIPAA authorization, a legal 
representative may sign for the subject.   A copy of the signed consent form will be given to the 
subject and the original will be maintained with the subject’s records. 
16.4 Publications  
The preparation and submittal for publication of manuscripts containing the study results shall be 
in accordance with a process determined by mutual written agreement among the study Sponsor 
and participating institutions.  The publication or presentation of any study results shall comply 
with all applicable privacy laws, including, but not limited to, the Health Insurance Portability 
and Accountability Act of 1996.  
16.5 Investigator Responsibilities 
By signing the Agreement of Investigator form, the Investigator agrees to: 
1. Conduct the study in accordance with the protocol and only make changes after notifying 
the Sponsor (or designee), except when to protect the safety, rights or welfare of subjects. 
1. Personally conduct or supervise the study (or investigation). 
2. Ensure that the requirements relating to obtaining informed consent and IRB 
review and approval meet federal guidelines, as stated in § 21 CFR, parts 50 and 
56. 
3. Report to the Sponsor or designee any AEs that occur in the course of the study, 
in accordance with §21 CFR 312.64. 
4. Ensure that all associates, colleagues and employees assisting in the conduct of 
the study are informed about their obligations in meeting the above commitments. 

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5. Maintain adequate and accurate records in accordance with §21 CFR 312.62 and 
to make those records available for inspection with the Sponsor (or designee). 
6. Ensure that an IRB that complies with the requirements of §21 CFR part 56 will 
be responsible for initial and continuing review and approval of the clinical study. 
7. Promptly report to the IRB and the Sponsor (or designee) all changes in the 
research activity and all unanticipated problems involving risks to subjects or 
others (to include amendments and IND safety reports). 
8. Seek IRB approval before any changes are made in the research study, except 
when necessary to eliminate hazards to the patients/subjects. 
9. Comply with all other requirements regarding the obligations of clinical 
investigators and all other pertinent requirements listed in § 21 CFR part 312. 
 
 
 

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REFERENCES 
 
1. 
Picker, L.J., Hansen, S.G. & Lifson, J.D. New paradigms for HIV/AIDS vaccine 
development. Annu Rev Med 63, 95-111 (2012). 
2. 
Haase, A.T. Perils at mucosal front lines for HIV and SIV and their hosts. Nat Rev 
Immunol 5, 783-792 (2005). 
3. 
Kaufmann, D.E., et al. Limited Durability of Viral Control following Treated Acute HIV 
Infection. PLoS Med 1, e36 (2004). 
4. 
Trimble, C.L., et al. Safety, efficacy, and immunogenicity of VGX-3100, a therapeutic 
synthetic DNA vaccine targeting human papillomavirus 16 and 18 E6 and E7 proteins for 
cervical intraepithelial neoplasia 2/3: a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled 
phase 2b trial. Lancet 386, 2078-2088 (2015). 
5. 
Kalams, S.A., et al. Safety and comparative immunogenicity of an HIV-1 DNA vaccine 
in combination with plasmid interleukin 12 and impact of intramuscular electroporation 
for delivery. J Infect Dis 208, 818-829 (2013). 
6. 
Morrow, M.P., et al. Synthetic consensus HIV-1 DNA induces potent cellular immune 
responses and synthesis of granzyme B, perforin in HIV infected individuals. Mol Ther 
23, 591-601 (2015). 
7. 
(WHO), J.U.N.P.o.H.A.U.a.W.H.O. UNAIDS, Report on the Global AIDS Epidemic.  1-
264 (2014). 
8. 
Braitstein, P., et al. Mortality of HIV-1-infected patients in the first year of antiretroviral 
therapy: comparison between low-income and high-income countries. Lancet 367, 817-
824 (2006). 
9. 
Byakwaga, H., et al. The Kynurenine Pathway of Tryptophan Catabolism, CD4+ T-Cell 
Recovery, and Mortality Among HIV-Infected Ugandans Initiating Antiretroviral 
Therapy. The Journal of Infectious Diseases (2014). 
10. 
Mohammadi, P., et al. Dynamics of HIV latency and reactivation in a primary CD4+ T 
cell model. PLoS Pathog 10, e1004156 (2014). 
11. 
Chung, A.W., et al. Dissecting Polyclonal Vaccine-Induced Humoral Immunity against 
HIV Using Systems Serology. Cell 163, 988-998 (2015). 
12. 
Kumar, A.M., Borodowsky, I., Fernandez, B., Gonzalez, L. & Kumar, M. Human 
immunodeficiency virus type 1 RNA Levels in different regions of human brain: 
quantification using real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction. Journal of 
neurovirology 13, 210-224 (2007). 
13. 
Vandergeeten, C., et al. Cross-clade ultrasensitive PCR-based assays to measure HIV 
persistence in large-cohort studies. J Virol 88, 12385-12396 (2014). 
14. 
Ho, Y.C., et al. Replication-competent noninduced proviruses in the latent reservoir 
increase barrier to HIV-1 cure. Cell 155, 540-551 (2013). 
15. 
Yukl, S.A., et al. CD4 T-cell subset composition of HIV reservoirs in gut, lymph node, 
and blood during HAART [abstract #137].  In: Program and abstracts of the 21st 
Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (Boston, MA).  (2014). 
 
 
 

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SAMPLE INFORMED CONSENT FOR COHORT A 
 
CONSENT TO PARTICIPATE IN A RESEARCH STUDY 
 
 
Study Title: Safety, immunogenicity and anti-reservoir activity of an electroporation-
administered HIV DNA vaccine encoding Gag, Pol and Env proteins with IL-12 plasmid in 
HIV-infected adults on antiretroviral therapy 
 
Short Title: Safety and Efficacy of an HIV DNA Therapeutic Vaccine 
 
Introduction 
You are being asked to take part in this research study because you have HIV infection, are 
taking anti-HIV medications (known as antiretroviral therapy, or “ART”), and the HIV virus (the 
virus that causes AIDS) that you are infected with has been kept at a very low level for at least 2 
years. 
 
This study involves research. Research is not the same as medical care. Research answers 
scientific questions. These answers can help find new medicines, treatments, vaccines, and even 
knowledge on how the human body works. Medical research studies include only people who 
choose to take part. This is a consent form. It gives you information about this study. The study 
staff will talk with you about this information. You are free to ask questions about this study at 
any time. Take your time to make your decision about participating. You may discuss your 
decision with your family and friends and with your health care team. If you have any questions, 
you may ask your study doctor. If you agree to take part in this study, you will be asked to sign 
this consent form. You will get a copy to keep. 
 
Why is this study being done? 
Antiretroviral therapy (ART) prevents HIV from replicating and spreading but it does not cure 
HIV. Therapy for HIV must be taken daily for life. This study is attempting to find a way for the 
immune system to control HIV even after therapy is stopped. This will be achieved by using a 
vaccine that stimulates the immune system to more strongly recognize the virus. The study is 
inspired by recent success using a vaccine for the treatment of human papillomavirus (HPV), 
another chronic virus infection. Although the study team believes a vaccine such as the one being 
studied here will be helpful for finding a way to allow people with HIV to remain healthy off of 
therapy, it is not expected that the vaccine will work alone. The study vaccine will hence not 
cure HIV on its own. 
 
Three vaccine products will be studied. The goals of the study are to see how safe the vaccine 
products are, how bothersome the side effects are from receiving the vaccine, and to understand 
the kinds of immune system responses the vaccine creates. These same vaccines have been given 
to HIV-uninfected persons in a separate research study. Other similar vaccines have been given 
to HIV-uninfected individuals and one study of HIV-infected individuals. In these studies, the 
vaccines were found to be safe and the main side effect was of pain at the injection site, which 

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passed quickly. Two of the vaccine products are made up of part of the natural human 
immunodeficiency virus (HIV). These products cannot replicate or grow in your body. One 
product contains information for the viral Gag and Pol proteins. The other product contains 
information for the viral Env protein. The third part of the vaccine is IL-12 and is designed to 
improve your body’s response to the vaccine. IL-12 is naturally made by your body and helps to 
stimulate the immune system. 
 
The vaccines are made of DNA. DNA contains the information needed to make new proteins. 
The DNA is taken up by certain cells in your body. These cells will make HIV proteins and IL-
12 that stimulate your immune system.  
 
We are interested in determining the best viral proteins to produce in an HIV vaccine. We will 
compare what happens in people who get either no active vaccine (placebo), a vaccine with just 
the Gag, Pol and IL-12 DNA and a vaccine with Gag, Pol, Env and IL-12 DNA. 
 
The vaccines are injected into your body using an investigational device (called CELLECTRA®) 
through a process called “electroporation,” or “EP.” "Investigational" means the vaccine and 
study device combination being tested have not been approved by the Food and Drug 
Administration (FDA). The vaccines are given by a shot in the arm or leg, into the muscle. The 
CELLECTRA® device will deliver a short electric charge to increase the amount of the vaccine 
taken up by cells in your muscle. The vaccine is given with this device because EP appears to 
increase the body’s response to vaccination compared to injection into the muscle alone.  
 
Who is paying for this study? 
 
This study is paid for by the NIH with support from Inovio (the manufacturer of vaccine). 
 
How many people will take part in this study? 
A total of 45 HIV-infected adults will be enrolled in this study. 
 
How long will I be in this study? 
The study will last for 64 weeks. 
 
What will happen during the screening process? 
If you decide to take part in this research study, you will be asked to sign this consent form and 
have a screening visit to determine if you can join the study. You will need to have the following 
“screening” exams, tests, or procedures to find out if you can be in the main part of the study: 
 
Physical exam: You will have a complete physical examination, similar to that done for 
regular medical care. Your vital signs, height and weight will be measured. 
Medical chart review: Your medical chart will be reviewed by the study staff. 
Blood drawing (venipuncture): You will have blood drawn by inserting a needle into a vein 
in your arm or hand. Blood will be collected for laboratory tests to evaluate your general 
health and your HIV status (viral load, T cell counts). 

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Pregnancy testing: If you are a woman able to become pregnant, a pregnancy test (urine or 
blood) will be performed to confirm you are not pregnant. You will not be able to enroll in 
this study if you are pregnant.  
 
You will be asked to remain on your current antiretroviral drugs throughout the study. The study 
will not provide any antiretroviral drugs. 
 
What will happen during the main part of the study 
If the screening tests determine that you can participate in the study and you choose to take part, 
then you will be enrolled in the study. 
Once you are enrolled in the study you will be randomized to one of three groups to receive 
either: 
1) Placebo (no vaccine AND no IL-12) 
2) Gag, Pol, and IL-12 vaccine, or  
3) Gag, Pol, Env, and IL-12 vaccine 
 
Randomization is like flipping a coin. Neither you nor the study team will know which of the 
three treatments you will receive. You will have an equal chance of being in any one of these 
groups. 
 
You will be asked to come to the clinic several times over the course of the study. You will have 
a physical exam and blood for routine studies and for research studies will be taken at each visit.  
You will be asked questions about your symptoms, medical history, diagnoses, and medications.  
 
The first formal visit will be a baseline visit. This visit will occur approximately two weeks 
before the vaccines begin. At this time you will have blood collected during a procedure called 
leukapheresis. This procedure will remove blood from your arm, take out your white blood cells, 
and give back the rest of the blood. Two needles attached to tubes will be inserted into veins in 
each arm. Low calcium levels can occur from an additive (citric acid, similar to what is 
contained in fruit) that is used during the leukapheresis procedure to prevent your blood from 
clotting when it is in the machine. You may be given a small amount of intravenous or oral 
calcium to decrease symptoms related to having low calcium levels. You may also be given 
calcium to take if you develop numbness or tingling symptoms that suggest low calcium levels. 
At the completion of the leukapheresis procedure, the needles and tubes will be removed and you 
will be checked for bleeding before you are released. This is generally a three to four hour 
procedure. 
 
You will start the vaccine series at the Week 0 visit. Following the first vaccine at the Week 0 
visit, you will be asked to return to the clinic at Week 1 for blood studies. You will then have 
vaccines at Weeks 4, 8 and 12. You will be observed in the clinic for 30 minutes following each 
vaccine. A study team member will call you approximately 24 hours after each vaccine to check 
if there are any problems. You will be asked to keep a diary of any symptoms you experience on 
the day of the study dosing and for 6 days after the study dosing. 
 

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You will be asked to return to the clinic two weeks after the last vaccine for more studies. This 
Week 14 visit will be when most of the important studies of your immune system will be 
performed. Another leukapheresis will occur at this time. 
 
You will then be asked to return at Weeks 24, 36, 48 and 64 for more blood studies and to see if 
you have had any symptoms or medical conditions that may have been related to the vaccine. 
 
Unscheduled visits: 
During the study, you may have to return to the research unit for unscheduled visits for 
additional testing if you have any abnormal lab values or to follow-up on a specific side effect or 
symptom. 
 
Referrals to other studies: 
You may be asked to undergo additional studies to determine how the vaccines affect your 
immune system in the lining of your gut. These studies involve taking pieces of tissue from your 
gut. These are optional. A separate form will need to be signed. 
 
Total collection of blood:  
About 3 pints of blood will be drawn over the entire study. 
 
Storage of blood for future research studies: 
As part of this study, a portion of the blood (plasma, peripheral blood mononuclear cells, serum) 
obtained at some of the study visits will be stored at the University of California, San Francisco 
(UCSF) for future research studies. We will also collect and save information from your medical 
record, including results of physical examinations, diagnostic tests, medical questionnaires and 
histories, diagnoses, and treatments. We do not know if your specimens or medical record will be 
used, but they might be used in research to learn more about HIV infection. Only the study team 
will have direct access to the specimens.  
 
All specimens are coded with an ID number. Only the date the specimen was collected will be 
stored with the specimen; no personal identifiers such as your name will be kept with stored 
specimens. Only the study team will know which samples belong to you.  
 
We may give the specimen and certain medical information about you (for example, diagnosis, 
age) to other scientists or companies, but we will not give them your name, address, phone 
number, or any other information that would identify you. Your personal health information 
cannot be used for additional research without additional approval from either you or a review 
committee.  
 
The following tests of your immune system and virus may be performed: 
 Tests to determine how much virus is in your T cells 
 Tests to determine the level of immune markers in your blood 
 Other tests related to this study, which are unknown at this time, may be performed. 
 

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Your specimens will be kept indefinitely at UCSF. If you agree, any information obtained from 
laboratory studies that may be important for your clinical care will be shared with you and/or 
your primary care provider. This information, however, is exploratory and the clinical relevance 
and accuracy of the data are unknown. You should indicate at the end of this consent form if you 
want this information shared. 
 
Sometimes specimens are used for genetic research (about diseases that are passed on in 
families). Even if we use the specimen for genetic research, we will not put the results in your 
medical record. The research will not change the care you receive. Your specimens and any 
information about you will be kept until it is used up or destroyed. The specimens may be used 
to develop new discoveries, drugs, tests, treatments, or products. In some instances these may 
have potential commercial value, but you will not receive any payment or financial benefit from 
any products, tests, or discoveries.  
 
If you decide later that you do not want your specimens and information to be used for future 
research, you can tell the study principal investigator and any remaining identifiable specimens 
and information will be destroyed.  
 
Medications not allowed during the study 
You will be asked not to take any strong drugs that directly affect your immune system unless 
they are medically necessary. These might include prednisone and other power steroid drugs.  
You will also be encouraged not to change your antiretroviral drug regimen unless there are side 
effects or they stop working. 
 
Can I stop being in the study? 
You can decide to stop at any time. It is important to tell the study doctor or research staff if you 
are thinking about stopping or have decided to stop. 
The study investigators may take you off the study early without your permission if:  
 The study is stopped or cancelled.  
 You are not able to attend the study visits as required by the study. 
 The study doctor or you regular doctor thinks that the study is no longer in your best 
interest. 
 You become pregnant.  
 
The study investigators will supervise any discontinuation of study medications with you as your 
health is the first priority. You will be asked to have a final visit for a physical exam and 
laboratory tests and your treatment options will be discussed with you.  
 
The study may be stopped at any time by the Food and Drug Administration, the (insert name of 
site) Institutional Review Board (IRB), and/or other appropriate regulatory agencies. 
 
What side effects or risks can I expect from being in the study? 

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You may have side effects while on the study. Everyone taking part in the study will be watched 
carefully for any side effects. Side effects may be mild or very serious. You may be given 
medicines to help lessen some of the side effects. Many side effects go away soon after you stop 
taking study medications. In some cases, side effects can be serious, long lasting, or may never 
go away.  
 
You should talk to the study doctor or research staff about any side effects that you experience 
while taking part in the study. 
 
Risks and side effects related to vaccine: The vaccines used in this study have been studied in the 
past. No major side effects have been reported and none are expected. Because the vaccine and 
device combination is investigational, all of the side effects may not be known. Below is a list of 
possible side effects of the vaccines, based on experience with similar investigational products 
delivered using the CELLECTRA® device.  
Very Common Side Effects (>10%) are: 
 Mild to moderate injection site pain or tenderness 
 Injection site erythema or redness 
 Injection site swelling 
 Injection site pruritis (itching) 
 Nausea 
 Fatigue  
 Myalgia 
 Headache 
Common Side Effects (1-10%) are: 
 Malaise 
 Injection site bruising 
 Pyrexia (fever) 
 Arthralgia 
There may also be risks or side effects that are unknown and/or unforeseeable. 
 
Risks of the CELLECTRA® device: The EP process is almost always associated with local areas 
of discomfort and swelling. These effects will go away in a few minutes to hours. During the 
procedure, you may feel pain where the needles are inserted. Other clinical trial participants have 
rated the discomfort that they felt during the procedure on a scale from 0 ("no pain") to 10 
("worst pain") and the average pain/score was around six (6) immediately after the procedure and 
less than one (1) at 10 minutes after the procedure. 
 
Risks related to the leukaphereses:  
 
 
Pain or discomfort, bruising, swelling and possible infection may be associated with 
blood collection and insertion of the needles for leukapheresis.  You may feel dizzy or 
faint.  The pheresis staff will quickly treat any of these reactions and will direct their 

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efforts to preventing a reaction from occurring.  Should any of these or any other reaction 
occur during the pheresis procedure, the procedure will be stopped until the problem has 
been rectified.  At any time, if you feel uncomfortable or if you do not wish to proceed, 
the procedure will be stopped at your request. 
  
 
Risks associated directly with the leukapheresis are usually minimal but could include: 
tingling around the mouth and face, vibrating feeling, possible muscle cramps and feeling 
cold from the additives used to prevent your blood from clotting when it is in the 
machine.  
   
 
Less common symptoms include lightheadedness, dizziness, fainting, nausea and 
vomiting, hematoma or bruise caused by bleeding under the skin.  
   
 
Serious complications, though extremely rare, could occur and could include major blood 
loss or introduction of air bubbles into the bloodstream which can block blood circulation 
to the lungs and other vital organs, but the modern machines make this very unlikely. 
  
 
In very rare situations, the machine may malfunction and lead to clotting of your blood in 
the machine, or may damage some of your red blood cells that are in the machine.  The 
machine is equipped with automatic safety devices that will stop the pheresis if these 
complications occur in order to prevent any possible harm to you.  If such a shutdown 
does occur, it may be impossible to return to you all of the blood and plasma that are in 
the machine.  The volume of blood which you may lose will be about one half unit of 
blood (8 ounces or one cup). 
  
Reproductive risks: There are no adequate and well-controlled trials of these vaccines in 
pregnant women. It is not known whether the investigational products and/or device may affect 
an unborn child or nursing infant. For this reason, if you are breast-feeding, pregnant or plan to 
become pregnant, you cannot participate in this clinical trial. You will be asked to take a 
pregnancy test at the beginning of the clinical trial and before each dose of investigational 
products in order to determine if you are pregnant.  
 
If you are able to become pregnant, two of the following forms of birth control are required, one 
of which must be condoms or a diaphragm or cervical cap:  
 Condoms (male of female) with or without a spermicidal agent 
 Diaphragm or cervical cap with spermicide 
 Intrauterine device (IUD) with published data showing that expected failure rate is < 1% 
per year 
 Tubal ligation 
 Hormone-based contraceptive such as oral birth control pills 
 
Even if you use acceptable forms of birth control during the clinical trial, there is a chance you 
could become pregnant. If you do become pregnant during the clinical trial: 
 Call/notify the study doctor immediately 
 Consult an obstetrician or maternal-fetal specialist 
 You will not be given any additional investigational products 

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 You will be followed to determine the pregnancy outcome 
 
If you are a male who is sexually active with a woman capable of becoming pregnant, you must 
agree to use a medically accepted form of birth control during the course of this research study. 
You should inform your partner of the potential harm to an unborn child. She needs to know that 
if she does become pregnant during the study: 
 You will need to call/notify the study doctor immediately 
 She will need to consult an obstetrician or maternal-fetal specialist 
 We will ask for her permission to collect information about the pregnancy and the health 
of the baby. This includes information related to the pregnancy/delivery and obstetrical 
history. The data concerning the pregnancy and birth outcome will be held in a drug 
safety database. 
Blood drawing (venipuncture) risks: Drawing blood from a vein may cause some discomfort, 
bleeding, or bruising where the needle enters the skin, and rarely, fainting or infection may 
occur. Up to a total of 1500 mL (about 3 pints) of blood will be drawn over the entire study 
period. No more than 480 mL (2 cups) of blood will be drawn over any two-month period. This 
is within Red Cross Guidelines (less than 500 mL every two months). Risks of blood collection 
include anemia (low blood counts). Symptoms of anemia include tiredness, weakness and 
dizziness. You will be checked for anemia at each visit by testing your hemoglobin and 
hematocrit levels, which are measures of your red blood cell levels. If the investigator feels that 
you are at significant risk for anemia, the amount of blood collected will be reduced. If your 
hemoglobin falls below 9 g/dL or your hematocrit falls below 27%, you will have 5 mL (1 
teaspoon) of blood drawn to check your hemoglobin and hematocrit. Other than the blood 
required to check your hemoglobin and hematocrit, you will not have more blood drawn until 
your hemoglobin rises above 9 g/dL or your hematocrit rises above 27%. 
 
Risk of genetic testing: Genetic information that results from this study does not have medical or 
treatment importance at this time. However, there is a risk that information about taking part in a 
genetic study may influence insurance companies and/or employers regarding your health. To 
further safeguard your privacy, genetic information obtained in this study will not be placed in 
your medical record. 
 
Effect on participating in other studies: Every research study has different requirements for 
participation, which are known as eligibility criteria. If you participate in this study, the 
procedures required for this study may make you not eligible to participate in other studies for a 
period of time. How long that period of time is is determined by the other study. 
 
Unknown risks: The vaccines may have side effects that no one knows about yet. All drugs have 
a potential risk of an allergic reaction, which if not treated promptly, could become life-
threatening. The researchers will let you know if they learn anything that might make you change 
your mind about participating in the study. For more information about risks and side effects, ask 
the study investigators or a member of the study team. 
 
Are there benefits to taking part in the study? 

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If you take part in this study, you should not expect any direct benefit to you. Information 
learned from this study may help others who have HIV. 
 
What other choices do I have if I do not take part in this study? 
You may choose not to participate in this study. Antiretroviral therapy to treat HIV is available 
by prescription and is highly effective even without a vaccine. You should talk to your doctor 
about your choices before deciding to take part in this study. 
 
Will my medical information be kept private? 
We will do everything we can to protect your privacy. Participation in research involves some 
loss of privacy.  We will do our best to make sure that personal information about you is kept 
private, but we cannot guarantee total privacy.  Some information from your medical records will 
be collected and used for this study.  A study record will be created because of your participation 
in this study. Your signed consent form and some of your research test results will be included in 
this record. Therefore, people involved with your future care and insurance may become aware 
of your participation and of any information added to your medical record as a result of your 
participation. Your personal information may be given out if required by law.  If information 
from this study is published or presented at scientific meetings, your name and other personal 
information will not be used. 
 
Organizations that may look at and/or copy your medical records for research, quality assurance, 
and data analysis include: 
 Institutional Review Board (IRB) (a group that protects the rights and well-being of 
research participants) 
 Office for Human Research Protections (OHRP) or other local, US, or international 
regulatory entities as part of their duties 
 Food and Drug Administration (FDA) 
 National Institutes of Health (NIH) 
 Inovio Pharmaceuticals 
 Study staff 
 Study monitors 
 
What are the costs of taking part in this study? 
You will not be charged for the study medications, the study visits, examinations, or tests 
required by the study. You or your insurance company will need to cover the costs of your 
standard antiretroviral drugs (HIV medications). You or your insurance company will be 
responsible for the costs of your regular medical care as well as for the costs of the anti-HIV 
medicines that you will take after you complete the study. 
 
Will I be paid for taking part in this study? 
You will not be paid for the screening visit. If you are eligible for this study and choose to 
participate, in return for your time, effort, and travel expenses, you will be paid $XX at the 

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completion of each study visit (excluding the screening visit). For each leukapheresis procedure 
you undergo, you will be paid $XX.  
 
Payments for participating in research studies are considered reportable income for tax purposes. 
The University of California will not report this income to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) 
unless your total University income equals or exceeds $600 in a single calendar year. The 
University accounting procedures assure that your participation in this study remains 
confidential. 
 
What happens if I am injured because I took part in this study? 
It is important that you promptly tell the study investigators or staff if you feel that you have 
been injured because of taking part in this study. You can tell the investigator in person or call 
him/her at the number(s) listed below. 
 
Treatment and Compensation for Injury: If you are injured as a result of being in this study, 
the University of California will provide necessary medical treatment. The costs of the treatment 
may be billed to you or your insurer just like any other medical costs, or covered by the 
University of California, depending on a number of factors. The University does not normally 
provide any other form of compensation for injury. There is no program for compensation 
through the National Institutes of Health. You will not be giving up any of your legal rights by 
signing this consent form. 
 
What are my rights if I take part in this study? 
Taking part in this study is your choice. You may choose either to take part or not to take part in 
the study. If you decide to take part in this study, you may leave the study at any time. No matter 
what decision you make, there will be no penalty to you and you will not lose any of your regular 
benefits. Leaving the study will not affect your medical care. You can still get your medical care 
from our institution.  
 
We will tell you about new information or changes in the study that may affect your health or 
your willingness to continue in the study.  
 
In the case of injury resulting from this study, you do not lose any of your legal rights to seek 
payment by signing this form. 
 
Who can answer my questions about the study? 
For questions about this study, contact:  
If you wish to ask questions about the study or your rights as a research participant to someone 
other than the researchers or if you wish to voice any problems or concerns you may have about 
the study, please contact:  
 
A description of this clinical trial will be available on http://www.ClinicalTrials.gov, as required 
by U.S. Law.  This Web site will not include information that can identify you.  At most, the 
Web site will include a summary of the results.  You can search this Web site at any time. 

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CONSENT 
 
You have been given copies of this signed and dated consent form and the Experimental 
Subject's Bill of Rights to keep. You will be asked to sign a separate form authorizing access, 
use, creation, or disclosure of health information about you. 
 
PARTICIPATION IN RESEARCH IS VOLUNTARY. You have the right to decline to 
participate or to withdraw at any point in this study without penalty or loss of benefits to which 
you are otherwise entitled. 
 
If you have read this consent form (or had it explained to you), all your questions have been 
answered and you agree to take part in this study, please sign your name below. 
 
 
_____     _______________________________      ___________________________________ 
Date     Participant's Signature for Consent              Printed name of Participant 
 
 
____   _______________________________       ___________________________________ 
Date    Signature of Person Obtaining Consent       Printed name of Person Obtaining Consent 
 
 
Optional consent to share any results from laboratory studies: 
 
I 
 agree 
 do not agree to have 
 my primary care provider and/or 
 myself informed of 
any results from the laboratory studies that might be important to my care. 
 
Subject’s initials ________  
 
 
OPTIONAL STUDIES 
 
Optional Co-enrollment into gut biopsy study: At study entry, you will be asked if you want to 
enroll in a gut biopsy study. This study will allow us to measure changes in immune cells in the 
gut. Visits will be coordinated with visits required by this study. This is a separate study and 
requires a separate consent form. Participation in the gut biopsy study is not a requirement of this 
study. If you agree to participate in the gut biopsy study, you will be asked to sign a separate 
consent form. 
 
 

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SAMPLE INFORMED CONSENT FOR COHORT B 
 
CONSENT TO PARTICIPATE IN A RESEARCH STUDY 
 
Study Title: Safety, immunogenicity and anti-reservoir activity of an electroporation-
administered HIV DNA vaccine encoding Gag, Pol and Env proteins with IL-12 plasmid in 
HIV-infected adults on antiretroviral therapy 
 
Short Title: Safety and Efficacy of an HIV DNA Therapeutic Vaccine 
 
Introduction 
You are being asked to take part in this research study because you have HIV infection, you 
started anti-HIV medications (known as antiretroviral therapy, or “ART”) very soon after you 
were first infected with HIV, you are currently taking anti-HIV medications, and the HIV virus 
(the virus that causes AIDS) that you are infected with has been kept at a very low level for at 
least 2 years. 
This study involves research. Research is not the same as medical care. Research answers 
scientific questions. These answers can help find new medicines, treatments, vaccines, and even 
knowledge on how the human body works. Medical research studies include only people who 
choose to take part. This is a consent form. It gives you information about this study. The study 
staff will talk with you about this information. You are free to ask questions about this study at 
any time. Take your time to make your decision about participating. You may discuss your 
decision with your family and friends and with your health care team. If you have any questions, 
you may ask your study doctor. If you agree to take part in this study, you will be asked to sign 
this consent form. You will get a copy to keep. 
 
Why is this study being done? 
Antiretroviral therapy (ART) prevents HIV from replicating and spreading but it does not cure 
HIV. Therapy for HIV must be taken daily for life. This study is attempting to find a way for the 
immune system to control HIV even after therapy is stopped. This will be achieved by using a 
vaccine that stimulates the immune system to more strongly recognize the virus. The study is 
inspired by recent success using a vaccine for the treatment of human papillomavirus (HPV), 
another chronic virus infection. Although the study team believes a vaccine such as the one being 
studied here will be helpful for finding a way to allow people with HIV to remain healthy off of 
therapy, it is not expected that the vaccine will work alone. The study vaccine will hence not 
cure HIV on its own. 
 
Three vaccine products will be studied. The goals of the study are to see how safe the vaccine 
products are, how bothersome the side effects are from receiving the vaccine, and to understand 
the kinds of immune system responses the vaccine creates. These same vaccines have been given 
to HIV-uninfected persons in a separate research study. Other similar vaccines have been given 
to HIV-uninfected individuals and one study of HIV-infected individuals. In these studies, the 
vaccines were found to be safe and the main side effect was of pain at the injection site, which 

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passed quickly. Two of the vaccine products are made up of part of the natural human 
immunodeficiency virus (HIV). These products cannot replicate or grow in your body. One 
product contains information for the viral Gag and Pol proteins. The other product contains 
information for the viral Env protein. The third part of the vaccine is IL-12 and is designed to 
improve your body’s response to the vaccine. IL-12 is naturally made by your body and helps to 
stimulate the immune system. 
 
The vaccines are made of DNA. DNA contains the information needed to make new proteins. 
The DNA is taken up by certain cells in your body. These cells will make HIV proteins and IL-
12 that stimulate your immune system. We are interested in determining the best viral proteins to 
produce in an HIV vaccine.  
 
The vaccines (investigational products) are injected into your body using an investigational 
device (called CELLECTRA®) through a process called “electroporation,” or “EP.” 
"Investigational" means the vaccine and study device combination being tested have not been 
approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The vaccines are given by a shot in the 
arm or leg, into the muscle. The CELLECTRA® device will deliver a short electric charge to 
increase the amount of the vaccine taken up by cells in your muscle. The vaccine is given with 
this device because EP appears to increase the body’s response to vaccination compared to 
injection into the muscle alone. 
 
Who is paying for this study? 
 
This study is paid for by the NIH with support from Inovio (the manufacturer of vaccine). 
 
How many people will take part in this study? 
A total of 15 HIV-infected adults will be enrolled in this Cohort of the study. 
 
How long will I be in this study? 
The study will last for 64 weeks. 
 
What will happen during the screening process? 
If you decide to take part in this research study, you will be asked to sign this consent form and 
have a screening visit to determine if you can join the study. You will need to have the following 
“screening” exams, tests, or procedures to find out if you can be in the main part of the study: 
 
Physical exam: You will have a complete physical examination, similar to that done for 
regular medical care. Your vital signs, height and weight will be measured. 
Medical chart review: Your medical chart will be reviewed by the study staff. 
Blood drawing (venipuncture): You will have blood drawn by inserting a needle into a vein 
in your arm or hand. Blood will be collected for laboratory tests to evaluate your general 
health and your HIV status (viral load, T cell counts). 

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Pregnancy testing: If you are a woman able to become pregnant, a pregnancy test (urine or 
blood) will be performed to confirm you are not pregnant. You will not be able to enroll in 
this study if you are pregnant.  
 
You will be asked to remain on your current antiretroviral drugs throughout the study. The study 
will not provide any antiretroviral drugs. 
 
What will happen during the main part of the study 
If the screening tests determine that you can participate in the study and you choose to take part, 
then you will be enrolled in the study. 
You will receive the vaccine containing Gag, Pol, Env and IL-12 DNA. The vaccine is given as a 
shot in the muscle of the upper arm or leg.  
 
You will be asked to come to the clinic several times over the course of the study. You will have 
a physical exam and blood for routine studies and for research studies will be taken at each visit. 
You will be asked questions about your symptoms, medical history, diagnoses, and medications. 
 
The first formal visit will be a baseline visit. This visit will occur approximately two weeks 
before the vaccines begin. At this time you will have blood collected during a procedure called 
leukapheresis. This procedure will remove blood from your arm, take out your white blood cells, 
and give back the rest of the blood. Two needles attached to tubes will be inserted into veins in 
each arm. Low calcium levels can occur from an additive (citric acid, similar to what is 
contained in fruit) that is used during the leukapheresis procedure to prevent your blood from 
clotting when it is in the machine. You may be given a small amount of intravenous or oral 
calcium to decrease symptoms related to having low calcium levels. You may also be given 
calcium to take if you develop numbness or tingling symptoms that suggest low calcium levels. 
At the completion of the leukapheresis procedure, the needles and tubes will be removed and you 
will be checked for bleeding before you are released. This is generally a three to four hour 
procedure. 
 
You will start the vaccine series at the Week 0 visit. Following the first vaccine at the Week 0 
visit, you will be asked to return to the clinic at Week 1 for blood studies. You will then have 
vaccines at Weeks 4, 8 and 12. You will be observed in the clinic for 30 minutes following each 
vaccine. A study team member will call you approximately 24 hours after each vaccine to check 
if there are any problems. You will be asked to keep a diary of any symptoms you experience on 
the day of the study dosing and for 6 days after the study dosing. 
 
You will be asked to return to the clinic two weeks after the last vaccine for more studies. This 
Week 14 visit will be when most of the important studies of your immune system will be 
performed. Another leukapheresis will occur at this time. 
 
You will then be asked to return at Weeks 24, 36, 48 and 64 for more blood studies and to see if 
you have had any symptoms or medical conditions that may have been related to the vaccine. 
 
Unscheduled visits: 

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During the study, you may have to return to the research unit for unscheduled visits for 
additional testing if you have any abnormal lab values or to follow-up on a specific side effect or 
symptom. 
 
Referrals to other studies: 
You may be asked to undergo additional studies to determine how the vaccines affect your 
immune system in the lining of your gut. These studies involve taking pieces of tissue from your 
gut. These are optional. A separate form will need to be signed. 
 
Total collection of blood:  
About 3 pints of blood will be drawn over the entire study. 
 
Storage of blood for future research studies: 
As part of this study, a portion of the blood (plasma, peripheral blood mononuclear cells, serum) 
obtained at some of the study visits will be stored at the University of California, San Francisco 
for future research studies. We will also collect and save information from your medical record, 
including results of physical examinations, diagnostic tests, medical questionnaires and histories, 
diagnoses, and treatments. We do not know if your specimens or medical record will be used, but 
they might be used in research to learn more about HIV infection. Only the study team will have 
direct access to the specimens.  
All specimens are coded with an ID number. Only the date the specimen was collected will be 
stored with the specimen; no personal identifiers such as your name will be kept with stored 
specimens. Only the study team will know which samples belong to you. 
 
We may give the specimen and certain medical information about you (for example, diagnosis, 
age) to other scientists or companies, but we will not give them your name, address, phone 
number, or any other information that would identify you. Your personal health information 
cannot be used for additional research without additional approval from either you or a review 
committee.  
 
The following tests of your immune system and virus may be performed: 
 Tests to determine how much virus is in your T cells 
 Tests to determine the level of immune markers in your blood 
 Other tests related to this study, which are unknown at this time, may be performed. 
 
Your specimens will be kept indefinitely at UCSF. If you agree, any information obtained from 
laboratory studies that may be important for your clinical care will be shared with you and/or 
your primary care provider. This information, however, is exploratory and the clinical relevance 
and accuracy of the data are unknown. You should indicate at the end of this consent form if you 
want this information shared. 
 
Sometimes specimens are used for genetic research (about diseases that are passed on in 
families). Even if we use the specimen for genetic research, we will not put the results in your 

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medical record. The research will not change the care you receive. Your specimens and any 
information about you will be kept until it is used up or destroyed. The specimens may be used 
to develop new discoveries, drugs, tests, treatments, or products. In some instances these may 
have potential commercial value, but you will not receive any payment or financial benefit from 
any products, tests, or discoveries.  
 
If you decide later that you do not want your specimens and information to be used for future 
research, you can tell the study principal investigator and any remaining identifiable specimens 
and information will be destroyed.  
 
Medications not allowed during the study 
You will be asked not to take any strong drugs that directly affect your immune system unless 
they are medically necessary. These might include prednisone and other power steroid drugs.  
You will also be encouraged not to change your antiretroviral drug regimen unless there are side 
effects or they stop working. 
 
Can I stop being in the study? 
You can decide to stop at any time. It is important to tell the study doctor or research staff if you 
are thinking about stopping or have decided to stop. 
  
The study investigators may take you off the study early without your permission if:  
 The study is stopped or cancelled.  
 You are not able to attend the study visits as required by the study. 
 The study doctor or you regular doctor thinks that the study is no longer in your best 
interest. 
 You become pregnant.  
 
The study investigators will supervise any discontinuation of study medications with you as your 
health is the first priority. You will be asked to have a final visit for a physical exam and 
laboratory tests and your treatment options will be discussed with you.  
 
The study may be stopped at any time by the Food and Drug Administration, the (insert name of 
site) Institutional Review Board (IRB), and/or other appropriate regulatory agencies. 
 
What side effects or risks can I expect from being in the study? 
You may have side effects while on the study. Everyone taking part in the study will be watched 
carefully for any side effects. Side effects may be mild or very serious. You may be given 
medicines to help lessen some of the side effects. Many side effects go away soon after you stop 
taking study medications. In some cases, side effects can be serious, long lasting, or may never 
go away.  
 
You should talk to the study doctor or research staff about any side effects that you experience 
while taking part in the study. 

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Risks and side effects related to vaccine: The vaccines used in this study have been studied in the 
past. No major side effects have been reported and none are expected. Because the vaccine and 
device combination is investigational, all of the side effects may not be known. Below is a list of 
possible side effects of the vaccines, based on experience with similar investigational products 
delivered using the CELLECTRA® device.  
Very Common Side Effects (>10%) are: 
 Mild to moderate injection site pain or tenderness 
 Injection site erythema or redness 
 Injection site swelling 
 Injection site pruritis (itching) 
 Nausea 
 Fatigue  
 Myalgia 
 Headache 
Common Side Effects (1-10%) are: 
 Malaise 
 Injection site bruising 
 Pyrexia (fever) 
 Arthralgia 
There may also be risks or side effects that are unknown and/or unforeseeable. 
 
Risks of the CELLECTRA® device: The EP process is almost always associated with local areas 
of discomfort and swelling. These effects will go away in a few minutes to hours. During the 
procedure, you may feel pain where the needles are inserted. Other clinical trial participants have 
rated the discomfort that they felt during the procedure on a scale from 0 ("no pain") to 10 
("worst pain") and the average pain/score was around six (6) immediately after the procedure and 
less than one (1) at 10 minutes after the procedure.  
 
Risks related to the leukaphereses: 
 
 
Pain or discomfort, bruising, swelling and possible infection may be associated with 
blood collection and insertion of the needles for leukapheresis.  You may feel dizzy or 
faint.  The pheresis staff will quickly treat any of these reactions and will direct their 
efforts to preventing a reaction from occurring.  Should any of these or any other reaction 
occur during the pheresis procedure, the procedure will be stopped until the problem has 
been rectified.  At any time, if you feel uncomfortable or if you do not wish to proceed, 
the procedure will be stopped at your request. 
  
 
Risks associated directly with the leukapheresis are usually minimal but could include: 
tingling around the mouth and face, vibrating feeling, possible muscle cramps and feeling 

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cold from the additives used to prevent your blood from clotting when it is in the 
machine.  
   
 
Less common symptoms include lightheadedness, dizziness, fainting, nausea and 
vomiting, hematoma or bruise caused by bleeding under the skin.  
   
 
Serious complications, though extremely rare, could occur and could include major blood 
loss or introduction of air bubbles into the bloodstream which can block blood circulation 
to the lungs and other vital organs, but the modern machines make this very unlikely. 
  
 
In very rare situations, the machine may malfunction and lead to clotting of your blood in 
the machine, or may damage some of your red blood cells that are in the machine.  The 
machine is equipped with automatic safety devices that will stop the pheresis if these 
complications occur in order to prevent any possible harm to you.  If such a shutdown 
does occur, it may be impossible to return to you all of the blood and plasma that are in 
the machine.  The volume of blood which you may lose will be about one half unit of 
blood (8 ounces or one cup). 
 
Reproductive risks: There are no adequate and well-controlled trials of these vaccines in 
pregnant women. It is not known whether the investigational products and/or device may affect 
an unborn child or nursing infant. For this reason, if you are breast-feeding, pregnant or plan to 
become pregnant, you cannot participate in this clinical trial. You will be asked to take a 
pregnancy test at the beginning of the clinical trial and before each dose of investigational 
products in order to determine if you are pregnant.  
 
If you are able to become pregnant, two of the following forms of birth control are required, one 
of which must be condoms or a diaphragm or cervical cap:  
 Condoms (male of female) with or without a spermicidal agent 
 Diaphragm or cervical cap with spermicide 
 Intrauterine device (IUD) with published data showing that expected failure rate is < 1% 
per year 
 Tubal ligation 
 Hormone-based contraceptive such as oral birth control pills 
 
Even if you use acceptable forms of birth control during the clinical trial, there is a chance you 
could become pregnant. If you do become pregnant during the clinical trial: 
 Call/notify the study doctor immediately 
 Consult an obstetrician or maternal-fetal specialist 
 You will not be given any additional investigational products 
 You will be followed to determine the pregnancy outcome. 
 
If you are a male who is sexually active with a woman capable of becoming pregnant, you must 
agree to use a medically accepted form of birth control during the course of this research study. 

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You should inform your partner of the potential harm to an unborn child. She needs to know that 
if she does become pregnant during the study: 
 You will need to call/notify the study doctor immediately 
 She will need to consult an obstetrician or maternal-fetal specialist 
 We will ask for her permission to collect information about the pregnancy and the health 
of the baby. This includes information related to the pregnancy/delivery and obstetrical 
history. The data concerning the pregnancy and birth outcome will be held in a drug 
safety database. 
 
Blood drawing (venipuncture) risks: Drawing blood from a vein may cause some discomfort, 
bleeding, or bruising where the needle enters the skin, and rarely, fainting or infection may 
occur. Up to a total of 1500 mL (about 3 pints) of blood will be drawn over the entire study 
period. No more than 480 mL (2 cups) of blood will be drawn over any two-month period. This 
is within Red Cross Guidelines (less than 500 mL every two months). Risks of blood collection 
include anemia (low blood counts). Symptoms of anemia include tiredness, weakness and 
dizziness. You will be checked for anemia at each visit by testing your hemoglobin and 
hematocrit levels, which are measures of your red blood cell levels. If the investigator feels that 
you are at significant risk for anemia, the amount of blood collected will be reduced. If your 
hemoglobin falls below 9 g/dL or your hematocrit falls below 27%, you will have 5 mL (1 
teaspoon) of blood drawn to check your hemoglobin and hematocrit. Other than the blood 
required to check your hemoglobin and hematocrit, you will not have more blood drawn until 
your hemoglobin rises above 9 g/dL or your hematocrit rises above 27%. 
 
Risk of genetic testing: Genetic information that results from this study does not have medical or 
treatment importance at this time. However, there is a risk that information about taking part in a 
genetic study may influence insurance companies and/or employers regarding your health. 
To further safeguard your privacy, genetic information obtained in this study will not be placed 
in your medical record. 
 
Effect on participating in other studies: Every research study has different requirements for 
participation, which are known as eligibility criteria. If you participate in this study, the 
procedures required for this study may make you not eligible to participate in other studies for a 
period of time. How long that period of time is is determined by the other study.  
 
Unknown risks: The vaccines may have side effects that no one knows about yet. All drugs have 
a potential risk of an allergic reaction, which if not treated promptly, could become life-
threatening. The researchers will let you know if they learn anything that might make you change 
your mind about participating in the study. For more information about risks and side effects, ask 
the study investigators or a member of the study team. 
 
Are there benefits to taking part in the study? 
If you take part in this study, you should not expect any direct benefit to you. Information 
learned from this study may help others who have HIV. 
 

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What other choices do I have if I do not take part in this study? 
You may choose not to participate in this study. Antiretroviral therapy to treat HIV is available 
by prescription and is highly effective even without a vaccine. You should talk to your doctor 
about your choices before deciding to take part in this study. 
 
Will my medical information be kept private? 
We will do everything we can to protect your privacy. Participation in research involves some 
loss of privacy.  We will do our best to make sure that personal information about you is kept 
private, but we cannot guarantee total privacy.  Some information from your medical records will 
be collected and used for this study.  A study record will be created because of your participation 
in this study. Your signed consent form and some of your research test results will be included in 
this record. Therefore, people involved with your future care and insurance may become aware 
of your participation and of any information added to your medical record as a result of your 
participation. Your personal information may be given out if required by law.  If information 
from this study is published or presented at scientific meetings, your name and other personal 
information will not be used. 
 
Organizations that may look at and/or copy your medical records for research, quality assurance, 
and data analysis include: 
 Institutional Review Board (IRB) (a group that protects the rights and well-being of 
research participants) 
 Office for Human Research Protections (OHRP) or other local, US, or international 
regulatory entities as part of their duties 
 Food and Drug Administration (FDA) 
 National Institutes of Health (NIH) 
 Inovio Pharmaceuticals 
 Study staff 
 Study monitors 
 
What are the costs of taking part in this study? 
You will not be charged for the study medications, the study visits, examinations, or tests 
required by the study. You or your insurance company will need to cover the costs of your 
standard antiretroviral drugs (HIV medications). You or your insurance company will be 
responsible for the costs of your regular medical care as well as for the costs of the anti-HIV 
medicines that you will take after you complete the study. 
 
Will I be paid for taking part in this study? 
You will not be paid for the screening visit. If you are eligible for this study and choose to 
participate, in return for your time, effort, and travel expenses, you will be paid $XX at the 
completion of each study visit (excluding the screening visit). For each leukapheresis procedure 
you undergo, you will be paid $XX.  
 

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Payments for participating in research studies are considered reportable income for tax purposes. 
The University of California will not report this income to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) 
unless your total University income equals or exceeds $600 in a single calendar year. The 
University accounting procedures assure that your participation in this study remains 
confidential. 
 
What happens if I am injured because I took part in this study? 
It is important that you promptly tell the study investigators or staff if you feel that you have 
been injured because of taking part in this study. You can tell the investigator in person or call 
him/her at the number(s) listed below. 
 
Treatment and Compensation for Injury: If you are injured as a result of being in this study, 
the University of California will provide necessary medical treatment. The costs of the treatment 
may be billed to you or your insurer just like any other medical costs, or covered by the 
University of California, depending on a number of factors. The University does not normally 
provide any other form of compensation for injury. There is no program for compensation 
through the National Institutes of Health. You will not be giving up any of your legal rights by 
signing this consent form. 
 
What are my rights if I take part in this study? 
Taking part in this study is your choice. You may choose either to take part or not to take part in 
the study. If you decide to take part in this study, you may leave the study at any time. No matter 
what decision you make, there will be no penalty to you and you will not lose any of your regular 
benefits. Leaving the study will not affect your medical care. You can still get your medical care 
from our institution.  
 
We will tell you about new information or changes in the study that may affect your health or 
your willingness to continue in the study.  
 
In the case of injury resulting from this study, you do not lose any of your legal rights to seek 
payment by signing this form. 
 
Who can answer my questions about the study? 
For questions about this study, contact:  
If you wish to ask questions about the study or your rights as a research participant to someone 
other than the researchers or if you wish to voice any problems or concerns you may have about 
the study, please contact:  
 
A description of this clinical trial will be available on http://www.ClinicalTrials.gov, as required 
by U.S. Law.  This Web site will not include information that can identify you.  At most, the 
Web site will include a summary of the results.  You can search this Web site at any time. 
 

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CONSENT 
 
You have been given copies of this signed and dated consent form and the Experimental 
Subject's Bill of Rights to keep. You will be asked to sign a separate form authorizing access, 
use, creation, or disclosure of health information about you. 
 
PARTICIPATION IN RESEARCH IS VOLUNTARY. You have the right to decline to 
participate or to withdraw at any point in this study without penalty or loss of benefits to which 
you are otherwise entitled. 
 
If you have read this consent form (or had it explained to you), all your questions have been 
answered and you agree to take part in this study, please sign your name below. 
 
 
_____     _______________________________      ___________________________________ 
Date     Participant's Signature for Consent              Printed name of Participant 
 
 
____   _______________________________       ___________________________________ 
Date    Signature of Person Obtaining Consent       Printed name of Person Obtaining Consent 
 
 
Optional consent to share any results from laboratory studies: 
 
I 
 agree 
 do not agree to have 
 my primary care provider and/or 
 myself informed of 
any results from the laboratory studies that might be important to my care. 
 
Subject’s initials ________  
 
 
OPTIONAL STUDIES 
 
Optional Co-enrollment into gut biopsy study: At study entry, you will be asked if you want to 
enroll in a gut biopsy study. This study will allow us to measure changes in immune cells in the 
gut. Visits will be coordinated with visits required by this study. This is a separate study and 
requires a separate consent form. Participation in the gut biopsy study is not a requirement of this 
study. If you agree to participate in the gut biopsy study, you will be asked to sign a separate 
consent form.