Accelerating HIV vaccine development through meaningful engagement of local scientists and communities.

Purpose of review: There is a need to conduct multiple experimental medicine trials in regions with significant burden of disease to ensure the global relevance of vaccines under development including the African context.

Recent findings: African scientists can support accelerated HIV vaccine development by leading EMVTs in the region in a complementary fashion to global efforts and augment evidence generated to optimize and advance relevant vaccines towards licensure. The ADVANCE program enables EMVTs, where local scientists lead trial implementation and immunogenicity endpoint analysis of promising vaccine approaches. Concerted efforts towards scientific collaboration, enhancing specific clinical and lab capacity, and improving ethical and regulatory systems to review EMVTs in Africa will be catalytic. Appropriate engagement of local communities and stakeholders will be equally important, and the field needs to refine existing research literacy approaches to effectively partner with communities around current complex scientific approaches. Review of inclusion of relevant populations in early research is also needed.

Summary: African scientists and communities can help accelerate HIV vaccine development through stronger global collaboration. Now is the time for bold investments to enable the conduct of innovative EMVTs in Africa where the eventual vaccines will have the greatest impact.