Safety and immunogenicity of REMUNE™ in HIV-infected Thai subjects

The safety and immunogenicity of REMUNE(TM) an HIV-specific immune based therapy for HIV infection, was evaluated in a cohort of 30 HIV infected subjects in Thailand, This therapy utilizes a gp120 depleted inactivated virus (HZ(321)), which Exhibits a high degree of conservation with the core antigens of both type B' and E strains of HIV the predominant Thailand isolates, The treatment was well tolerated with no serious adverse events reported over the course of the 4-month trial, Treatment in which four doses were administered with REMUNE(TM) appear-ed to boost HIV-specific immune I responses, with approximately 75% of the treated subjects demonstrating an increase in either the repertoire or the intensity of the serological response to HIV as measured by Western blot. CD4%, viral load and weight remained stable over the course of the 4-month study relative to baseline values. Viral subtyping of this cohort revealed a predominance of type 'E', These data suggest that REMUNE(TM) is safe and immunogenic in seropositive further study of the therapeutic potential of REMUNE(TM) Thai subjects and supports further study of the therapeutic potential of REMUNE(TM) to treat HIV-1 infection. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd. All right reserved.