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G8 Plans to Create Global HIV Vaccine Enterprise

Leaders of the Group of Eight (G8) countries have called for the creation of a Global HIV Vaccine Enterprise. The G8 countries are the United States, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and the United Kingdom.

Following is a June 10 White House fact sheet providing details of the plan:

THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
(Sea Island, Georgia)
June 10, 2004

FACT SHEET: GLOBAL HIV VACCINE ENTERPRISE

"There are only two possible responses to suffering on this scale. We can turn our eyes away in resignation and despair, or we can take decisive, historic action to turn the tide against this disease..."

President George W. Bush
April 29, 2003
Washington, D.C.

Presidential Action

President Bush led the G8 today in endorsing the establishment of a Global HIV Vaccine Enterprise, a virtual consortium to accelerate HIV vaccine development. The President also announced plans to establish a second HIV Vaccine Research and Development Center in the U.S., and urged his G8 counterparts to increase their commitment to vaccine development.

U.S. Leadership: With over 40 million people suffering from HIV/AIDS worldwide, President Bush is leading global efforts to combat the HIV/AIDS pandemic through his $15 billion Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief and his commitment to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria, to which the United States has pledged more than $1.96 billion, or 36 percent of all pledges through 2008. But, the human and economic toll of the HIV pandemic demands that these activities be complemented by accelerated efforts to develop an HIV vaccine.

Global HIV Vaccine Enterprise: President Bush gained G8 endorsement today of the establishment of a Global HIV Vaccine Enterprise, a virtual consortium to accelerate HIV vaccine development by enhancing coordination, information sharing, and collaboration globally. This concept has been proposed by an international group of scientists (Klausner, RD, Fauci AS, et al: The need for a global HIV vaccine enterprise. Science 300:2036, 2003.) and is analogous to the successful alliance and strategic plan that characterized the approach to the human genome project.

The G8 called on the Enterprise to develop a strategic plan to:

-- Prioritize the scientific challenges to be addressed and fill the identified gaps in knowledge;

-- Coordinate product development efforts; and

-- Help align and channel existing and new resources to the needs at hand.

The United States will host later this year a meeting of all interested stakeholders in the Enterprise to encourage their collaborative efforts in HIV vaccine development.

New U.S. Vaccine R&D Center: President Bush announced today plans to establish a second HIV Vaccine Research and Development Center, in addition to the one at the U.S. National Institutes of Health. The new center will become a key component of the Global HIV Vaccine Enterprise. The United States is investing $488 million in HIV vaccine development in FY2004 [current year ending September 30] and has requested $533 million in FY2005. President Bush urged his G8 counterparts and other donors to increase their commitment.