“We are grateful to the U.K. Government for having been a long standing partner and supporter,” said Margaret McGlynn, IAVI’s President and Chief Executive Officer.
“The government’s continued trust in and financial support for IAVI will help ensure the development of preventive HIV vaccines that are safe, effective and accessible to all. Vaccines remain among our most effective and efficient tools for combating infectious diseases and can bring particular value to vulnerable populations, including women and children.”
Together with the contributions of other governments as well as foundations and other philanthropic supporters, DFID investments over the last 15 years have already helped IAVI to build a comprehensive portfolio of AIDS vaccine approaches and candidates. This includes a particular emphasis on HIV types affecting developing countries, and on novel approaches such as broadly neutralizing antibodies to overcome the enormous variability of HIV and its capacity to hide from the body’s immune system. Furthermore, this funding has helped to establish lasting partnerships and capacity for research in countries most affected by HIV and AIDS, including establishing laboratories and clinics for medical research and providing training for scientists and healthcare workers across Africa. Much of that research has been coordinated by IAVI’s U.K.-based laboratory at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, in collaboration with Imperial College London. Over the next 5 years, the funding from the U.K. Government will allow IAVI to bring together expertise from academia and the pharmaceutical sector, and from across regions, including the U.K. and Eastern and Southern Africa, to collaboratively design and evaluate novel vaccine candidates, with the aim to deliver proof that at least one can be fully developed into an effective vaccine to help prevent HIV infection or AIDS.
