The country's first AIDS vaccine will be tested at the National AIDS Research Centre (NARI), Pune. The same was announced by the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI). The vaccine, Modified Vaccinia Ankara (MVA), has been proposed by the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR). The vaccine would counter the strain of HIV sub type C, which is the most prevalent in India. At present the vaccine is at the final stages of animal trials.

The NARI trial follows a tripartite memorandum of understanding signed between the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, ICMR and IAVI.

"We will involve 40 volunteers - all healthy men and women in the age group of 15 and 50 for the trial. The vector based vaccine is administered thrice in one year to the volunteers. The immunization schedule would be 0,4th and 6th months," according to Jean Louis Excler, Medical Director , IAVI..

He further claimed that every volunteer would be monitored for 12 months to identify toxicity and immunogenicity, if any. "If the person show symptom of immunogenicity he or she would be monitored for six more months," Excler added, stating further that IAVI was confident of qualifying the animal trials and seek permission from the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) Ethical Committee and get set for the phase of human trials.

Phase I will test for toxicity and immunogenicity of the vaccine while Phase II and III will be efficacy trials. To encourage community involvement and participation from the initial stages of vaccine development and trials, the National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) and IAVI would network with various stake holders to identify vital issues and concern related to AIDS Vaccine trial in India, according to Mark Chataway, Team Leader, IAVI.

He further added that IAVI was planning to include more centres like the Tuberculosis Research Institute , Chennai and the National Institute of Epidemology in the first phase. "We will try more vaccines with more centres," he further added.