The first phase of the human trial of the AIDS vaccine has been successful.

Yesterday, Canada's Sumagen pharmaceutical company announced that the first phase of clinical trials for SAV001-H (a vaccine against HIV) had been successful. From March 2012 to last month, the trial lasted over a year and was designed to test the "safety, tolerability, and immunogenicity" of the drug on live humans.

In the first stage of the trial, researchers began observing whether the drug would work in animals to ensure it would not produce strange or harmful effects on humans, making this phase extremely risky. The results of SAV001-H were very promising: under conditions where HIV-infected individuals were randomly selected, unaware of their treatment, and given either the vaccine or a placebo, there were "no serious adverse reactions." This means the second phase of testing for the vaccine's efficacy can proceed.

SAV001-H is known as a "whole-killed virus vaccine," which includes the HIV virus itself. It might sound like something you wouldn't want injected into your body, but as part of the vaccine production process, live HIV is chemically and genetically restructured to remove its pathogenicity, and then gamma rays are used to ensure the virus is completely dead. Although other HIV vaccines that target specific parts of the HIV virus instead of killing the entire virus failed in the third phase of trials, the company firmly believes their drug will succeed because it follows the same principle as other successful vaccines, such as those for polio, influenza, rabies, and hepatitis A.

The vaccine works by prompting the human immune system to produce large amounts of antibodies to prevent HIV infection. Before the second phase of trials is completed, we won't have detailed statistics on the effectiveness of SAV001-H, but in the first phase, researchers were able to measure an increase in HIV-specific antibodies up to 8 to 64 times higher than with the placebo. Moreover, antibody levels continued to rise throughout the trial period. Based on these data, the company "[predicts] success in the second phase of human trials."

It's still too early to get excited, as many vaccines fail in the second or third phases of clinical trials. But regardless, we're excited. Thirty-five million people have died from AIDS, and just as many are infected. Forty percent of those infected are aged 15 to 24. The company states that once their vaccine hits the market (which will be soon), it will signify a "cleaning of the gateway for humanity against AIDS." A permanent cure.