Although the Antibody Mediated Prevention (AMP) study that launched in 2016 failed to show significant efficacy in a pair of clinical trials, Denis Burton argues in a Perspective that the AMP study's results represent a landmark in AIDS research; they show - for the first time - that a broadly neutralizing antibody (bnAb) can protect humans against exposure to some strains of HIV. According to Burton, the AMP study's data - despite not showing a significant difference between the numbers of infected individuals in the treated groups versus those in the placebo groups - still have tremendous implications for future HIV vaccine design and passive bnAb use strategies. The AMP study evaluated the immunotherapeutic use of the recently discovered HIV bnAb VRC01. Here, using context from animal model studies, Burton discusses the data in the trial that indicate that broad protection against a variety of HIV strains may be achievable using higher serum titers of infused therapeutic antibody and how these insights could be used to improve future human HIV bnAb clinical trials. "Overall, it is likely that data from the AMP study will be mined for some time and will doubtless provide new insights into HIV infection and the role of neutralizing antibody in containing virus infection."
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Journal
Science