Care and Prevention in HIV Vaccine Trials: a site perspective

Guy de Bruyn

Perinatal HIV Research UnitUniversity of the Witwatersrand

Chris Hani Baragwanath HospitalJohannesburg, South Africa

Access to care (modified from Grady)

• Care which is part of the scientific design

• Care needed to safely complete the trial

• Care for injuries and adverse events

• Post trial access

• Ancillary care– Care that some participants will

predictably need

Dialogue?

• “a comprehensive care package should be agreed upon through a host/community/sponsor dialogue which reaches consensus prior to initiation of a trial” (UNAIDS 2000, #16)…

Protocol mandates

• Avoiding pregnancy during the vaccination period

• Assessing symptoms of illness

• Ensuring adequate standard of care to control participants– Counselling – pre/post-test, risk reduction,

safer sex– Providing condoms

Care needed to safely complete the trial

• Resuscitation equipment

• Laboratory monitoring of haematologic parameters and other clinical laboratory values of potential interest– Anaemia– Leukopaenia– Alteration of hepatic enzyme tests

Ancillary care in HIV Vaccine trials

• Some questions– What kind of care is needed?– For how long?– By whom?– Whose responsibility?

Ancillary care – some examples

• Hypertension– May be diagnosed incidentally during the conduct

of trial procedures– Treatment is lifelong– Management is multi-modal, i.e. requires attention

to weight, nutrition, exercise, in addition to possible pharmacotherapy

• Facilitating access to services– TOP– Psychosocial support – rape/trauma/DV– Mental illness

• Dental care

What is “the standard of prevention”?

• HIV counseling and testing– Some protocols may not provide results in ‘real-

time’, depending on the complexity of ruling out vaccine-induced seropositivity

– Impact on testing outside of the trial setting• Other VCTs, blood donation, organ donation, testing for

insurance purposes

– What about partners?• Should we offer CHCT and who is able to do that?

More “Standard of Prevention”

• Risk reduction counselling– Efforts to standardize that intervention,

such as pilot efforts within DAIDS networks

• Condom promotion vs. provision– Male / Female / both– What other means should be used to

promote condom uptake

What about additional HIV prevention technologies?

• Male circumcision

• STI treatment – Diagnostics– Directed versus syndromic therapy

• Post-exposure prophylaxis

• Pre-exposure prophylaxis

• Other investigational agents

What is the Threshold of Evidence for New Prevention Tools?

Cochrane Review of HIV and Circumcision in High Risk Heterosexual Men

Siegfried et al. Lancet Infect Dis 2005

Phambili timelines

17Mar06. MCC submission. GMO submission

8May06. HREC submission

12Sep06. IBC submission

13Oct06. MCC approval

19Oct06. HREC approval24Jan07. First pt enrolled

19 Sep 2007

STEP trial interim resultsJuly 2005 Orange Farm MC trial results

December 2006 Kenyan and Ugandan MC trial results

7March 2007 First Phambili participant provided MC

8Nov06. IBC approval

21Nov06. GMO approval

Location of Studies of Acceptability

Thirteen studies from nine sub-Saharan African countries

Bailey R IAS 2007

Public Sector Circumcisions CHB

Local Expertise

Implementing at the Trial Site / Facilities

Circumcision

*129/441 were circumcised at baseline