Aids research gets massive cash boost

By Charlene Smith Aids vaccine research in South Africa has received a multimillion-dollar boost. Elevation Biotech, a Johannesburg biotechnology firm, has been awarded a one-year grant - part of a $30-million (R276-million) allocation by the International Aids Vaccine Initiative for research into an Aids vaccine. Most previous research has been focused on one of the 11 clades or subtypes of HIV and those found in the northern hemisphere, but in Southern Africa, India and China, clade C, or sub-type C, is predominant. The latest research project will be to find a vaccine that will be effective for all HIV sub-types. Elevation Biotech has already attracted considerable interest in Australia and the United States for its research into a third-stage antiretroviral drug (the current drugs being used in South Africa are referred... [read full story]