British, French and Belgian scientific researchers are working on revolutionary plans to use measles vaccine to fight Aids. The multimillion-pound EU-funded collaboration involves “using an ancient scourge to fight a new one”, said a statement by GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals and the Paris-based Institut Pasteur, which have joined forces to develop the new vaccine. The idea is to fuse genes from the HIV virus on to an existing measles vaccine known to deliver long-lasting immunity. The work has won a £3.5 million contribution from the European Commission and was unveiled in Paris, in the week of World Aids Day on December 1. Four research centres are involved, including the Vaccine Institute at St George’s Hospital Medical School in London and the National Institute for Biological Standards and Control in Potters Bar, Hertfordshire.
