Singapore: At the AIDS 2014 Conference in Melbourne, Australia, scientists declared that they had identified a biomarker that was capable of predicting the kind of patients who will benefit the most from a therapeutic HIV vaccine.

The vaccine candidate was developed by a Norwegian company, Bionor pharma and the effects of the vaccine, as well as the disease progression was studied by the company in collaboration with St George's, University of London.

The phase II trials of the HIV vaccine Vacc-4x, revealed a potential biomarker in patients who exhibited a more profound reduction in viral burden upon receiving the vaccine.

Professor Angus Dalgleish, St George's, University of London said, "The HIV vaccine has successfully completed the preliminary tests and could soon be available. The side effects of HIV drugs can be nullified by this vaccine as it could replace daily medication."

In collaboration with St George's University, Bionor Pharma has developed a peptide (C5/gp41732-744) that can be used to detect antibodies against a part of the HIV envelope glycoprotein.

The presence of this protein has been found to be associated with slowed disease progression in absence of combination anti-retroviral therapy.