Conditions: HIV I Infection
Allocation: RANDOMIZED | Intervention model: PARALLEL
Enrollment: 137
Healthy volunteers: no

Brief summary:
Current management of HIV infection includes anti-retroviral therapy (ART). ART cannot cure the infection, making it a life-long treatment that requires sustained patient compliance and imposes significant individual and societal financial burdens on healthcare services. Furthermore, ART side effects often require medication that increases the inconveniences and financial burdens of HIV management. Of further concern is the emergence of viruses resistant to ART that can result in treatment failure.

ART-free periods could provide substantial benefit. Vacc-4x is a peptide-based HIV immunotherapy that is proposed for prolongation of ART-free periods. The purpose of this study is to determine whether Vacc-4x immunotherapy can give safe ART-free period.

Detailed description:
Current management of HIV infection includes anti-retroviral therapy (ART). ART cannot cure the infection, making it a life-long treatment that requires sustained patient compliance and imposes significant individual and societal financial burdens on healthcare services. Furthermore,ART side effects often require medication that increases the inconveniences and financial burdens of HIV management. Of further concern is the emergence of viruses resistant to ART that can result in treatment failure.

ART-free periods could provide substantial benefit. Vacc-4x is a peptide-based HIV immunotherapy that is proposed for prolongation of ART-free periods. The purpose of this study is to determine whether Vacc-4x immunotherapy can give safe ART-free period.

Arms:
arm 1: Vacc-4x reconstituted in sterile water (0.1 mL) at a dose of 1.2mg per intradermal administration. Participants are given a total of 6 immunizations over 18 weeks (weeks 1, 2, 3, 4, 16, 18). Recombinant human granulocyte macrophage colony stimulating factor (rhuGM-CSF) Leukine (0.06mg in 0.1 mL) administered intradermally is used as a local adjuvant. arm 2: Placebo injections consisting of sterile water (0.1 mL) in place of Vacc-4x. Placebo injections consisting of sterile water (0.1 mL) in place of Leukine.

Interventions: intervention 1: Vacc-4x intervention 2: Sterile water
Intervention descriptions: intervention 1: Vacc-4x is a peptide-based HIV immunotherapy administered intradermally. Vacc-4x peptides are reconstituted in sterile water. intervention 2: Sterile water is used in place of Vacc-4x and in place of Leukine

Protocol document: