Though vaccines for some cancers will be available soon, an effective vaccine for AIDS will take a much longer time. This was stated by Sir Gustav Nossal, world renowned immunological scientist and father of modern vaccines, from Australia. The setback for some AIDS vaccines at the clinical stage may be disappointing but he is optimistic that in the long run, may be in 10-15 years, an effective vaccine will be developed against HIV/AIDS. The good news is that considerable investments and global efforts have gone into the development of a potent vaccine.

Delivering the Fourth CDFD Distinguished Lecture on "Immunological Revolution -- Practical Fruits and Future Promises," in Hyderabad on Monday evening, Sir Gutav was, however, more confident in the possibility of vaccines for certain cancers of breast, cervix, gastric track and colon coming into the market soon.

He said clinical trials of a vaccine for cervical cancer in Taiwan had been successful and work was going on to develop it further. Sir Gustav, presently chairman of the Strategic Advisory Council of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation's Children Vaccine Programme and Professor Emeritus at the University of Melbourne, saw a major challenge in developing vaccines for AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis, the three killer diseases which are afflicting mainly the third world.

"These pathogens are proving to be very clever and difficult," he said. "Knowledge of human genome will revolutionise medicine, but it will take another 25 years to feel the real impact. Investors in biotechnology must know to be patient," Sir Gustav said.

He said there were several constraints, including social, medical and ethical issues, in the development of a vaccine. He spoke on the sidelines on the development of a birth control vaccine by the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences. He said the vaccine proved 80 per cent successful at the Phase II trial. But instead of pursuing the research further the project seemed to have been abandoned on other grounds than scientific.

Sir Gustav, who is in India for the promotion of Australia-India Council's partnership in the field of biotechnology, said the coming few years would see the launch of several vaccines for cervical cancers, breast cancer, Japanese encephalitis, dengue fever, rotavirus and streptococcus pneumonia, a form of acute respiratory infection.

He said the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation had been doing pioneering work for the immunization of children across the world. He made a compelling case to demonstrate how improved health in developing countries could contribute massively to economic development and save millions of lives. A global investment of $31 billion a year would not only save 8 million lives a year, but could reap economic gains of $186 billion a year.

Introducing the speaker, CDFD Director Dr Syed Hasnain said Sir Gustav had made the basic discovery on how the immune system works to protect man against disease. His classic work in confirming Burnet's theory of antibody formation was said to be the watershed in understanding the immune system. His research had increased the understanding of the immune system by demonstrating that a single lymphocyte makes only a single type of antibody. It took another 17 years to formally prove the theory in its totality. It was an extraordinary discovery which laid the foundation for the later discovery of monoclonal antibodies that won him a Nobel Prize.

Another important contribution of Sir Nissal had been in the area of cancer immunotherapy. He pioneered a clinical trial which has now evolved into a multi-centre phase-III trial of the use of G-CSF mobilised peripheral blood cells in the treatment of breast cancer.

Sir Gustav had been in the forefront of the global fight against disease for decades. He was Knighted in 1977, made a Companion of the Order of Australia in 1989 and appointed Australian of the Year 2000. He has received numerous other honours from 11 countries.

During his India visit, he delivered the Sir John Crawford Memorial Lecture in New Delhi. Sir John was a distinguished Australian economist and administrator, who worked closely with Indian and some international colleagues to pioneer the Green Revolution in India. In Delhi, he met President Dr APJ Abdul Kalam and top scientists of Ranbaxy. In Hyderabad, he met Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu and the top brass of Bharat Biotech International Ltd, Shanta Biotechnics and Indian Immunologicals among others.

CDFD established the Distinguished Lecture Series to invite eminent personalities, who have distinguished themselves in their fields, to visit CDFD and deliver a lecture for the benefit of the citizens of Hyderabad. The earlier speakers included Prof. Eugene W Myers, vice-president, Celera Genomics, USA, on Reconstruction of Human Genome and its Implications, Prof. Dr M Gourie Devi, Director-Vice-Chancellor, NIMHANS India on Acute Viral Infections of the Nervous System with Special Reference to Japanese Encephalitis and Prof. Ajit Varki, Director, Glucobiology Research & Training Center, University of California, on Genetic Differences between Humans and Great Apes - Just what is it that makes us humans.