Recent Press Releases

Advocacy Group Praises Merck-Aventis Pasteur Vaccine Collaboration

NEW YORK - The AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalition (AVAC) today said it is encouraged by the announcement that Merck & Co. would team up with Aventis Pasteur to work on a potential AIDS vaccine.

"This partnership will bring together some of the most thoughtful scientific minds working on HIV vaccines at two of the largest vaccine manufacturers in the world," said Chris Collins, AVAC's Executive Director. "The AIDS vaccine field needs more willingness on the part of product developers to work collaboratively and share lessons learned."

March 27, 2003

HIV Vaccine
Vaccine Fails to Show Efficacy: Data from subgroup analysis is intriguing But drawing conclusions would raise false hopes

NEW YORK - The AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalition (AVAC) today expressed disappointment that the first efficacy trial of an AIDS vaccine failed to show protection in the study population. The trial was of the vaccine candidate AIDSVAX that is made by VaxGen.

February 24, 2003

HIV Vaccine
AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalition (AVAC) Announces Appointment of Director of Science Communication and Advocacy

NEW YORK - The AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalition (AVAC) today announced the appointment of Huntly Collins as its first Director of Science Communication and Advocacy. Ms. Collins was a respected staff writer at The Philadelphia Inquirer from 1983 to 2001, where she covered public health and AIDS among other issues.

January 30, 2003

HIV Vaccine
FORD FOUNDATION MAKES TWO YEAR AWARD TO AIDS VACCINE ADVOCACY COALITION FOR COMMUNITY EDUCATION AND MOBILIZATION

AVAC Announces Appointment of New Director of Education and Outreach

NEW YORK - The Ford Foundation today announced a $250,000 grant over two years to the AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalition (AVAC). Founded in 1995, AVAC is a community and consumer-based advocacy organization working to accelerate ethical development and delivery of AIDS vaccines to populations throughout the world.

June 25, 2002

HIV Vaccine
AIDS Vaccine Challenge at Half-Way Mark -- Advocacy Coalition Sounds Alarm --

NEW YORK (May 17, 2002) - Today, the AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalition (AVAC) issued its fifth independent assessment of AIDS vaccine development from a community perspective. Entitled "Five Years & Counting; Science, Urgency and Courage," the report finds that the campaign to identify an effective AIDS vaccine needs to move more candidate vaccines into clinical trials, and cites the pressing need for increased community engagement and public pressure to accelerate research efforts.

May 17, 2002

HIV Vaccine
AIDS VACCINE ADVOCATES CALL FOR EXPANDED EFFORTS IN THE WAKE OF NIH ANNOUNCEMENT ON HIV VACCINE EFFORT

NEW YORK - The AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalition (AVAC) today responded to an announcement by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) that it would not be able to run a clinical trial of immune responses with the canarypox HIV vaccine candidate. "We are very disappointed that immunology results do not meet the HIV Vaccine Trials Network (HVTN) criteria to move ahead with a correlates trial," said Chris Collins, Executive Director of AVAC.

February 25, 2002

HIV Vaccine
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Awards Three-Year Grant to AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalition (AVAC), AVAC Announces Appointment of New Executive Director

Washington, D.C. - The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation today announced a grant of $600,000 over three years to the AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalition (AVAC). Founded in 1995, AVAC is a consumer-based advocacy organization working to speed development and delivery of AIDS vaccines to populations throughout the world.

January 23, 2002

HIV Vaccine

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Recent Press Releases

Advocacy Group Praises Merck-Aventis Pasteur Vaccine Collaboration

Vaccine Fails to Show Efficacy: Data from subgroup analysis is intriguing But drawing conclusions would raise false hopes

AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalition (AVAC) Announces Appointment of Director of Science Communication and Advocacy

FORD FOUNDATION MAKES TWO YEAR AWARD TO AIDS VACCINE ADVOCACY COALITION FOR COMMUNITY EDUCATION AND MOBILIZATION

AIDS Vaccine Challenge at Half-Way Mark -- Advocacy Coalition Sounds Alarm --

AIDS VACCINE ADVOCATES CALL FOR EXPANDED EFFORTS IN THE WAKE OF NIH ANNOUNCEMENT ON HIV VACCINE EFFORT

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Awards Three-Year Grant to AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalition (AVAC), AVAC Announces Appointment of New Executive Director

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