Australia became the first country in the world on December 11 to halt further development of corona vaccine candidate as several participants in the early-stage trials generated antibodies for HIV after receiving the potential therapeutic. The University of Queensland and Australian biotech firm CSL conducted the clinical trial of the vaccine as part of the country's $750 million vaccine scheme.
Prime Minister of Australia Scott Morrison said in a press conference that the project was being terminated since they cannot have any issue with confidence. "We are as a nation now, with a good portfolio of vaccines, able to make these decisions to best protect the Australian people," he said. There were no serious adverse events or safety concerns reported in the 216 participants of the phase 1 trial of the v451 COVID-19 vaccine candidate. According to data, some patients developed antibodies towards fragments of an HIV protein (gp41), which was used to stabilise the vaccine, it said.
University of Queensland said that the trial participants were fully informed of the possibility of a partial immune response to this protein component. It was unexpected that the antibody levels induced would interfere with certain HIV tests. UQ said there is no possibility that the vaccine causes infection, and routine follow up tests confirmed there is no HIV virus present. UQ commenced the phase 1 trial of v451 in July 2020, to assess its safety and immunogenicity in healthy volunteers.
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