Direction at a glance
Therapeutic vaccines aim to strengthen or redirect immune control in people who already have HIV. The leading strategy is combination treatment rather than vaccination alone.
What the evidence establishes
- ART suppresses replication but does not by itself train durable drug-free immune control.
- Therapeutic vaccine studies measure cellular responses, reservoir effects and rebound after closely monitored interruption.
- Immune response magnitude alone is not a validated surrogate for remission.
Next decisive research questions
Limits and responsible interpretation
What this direction does not yet prove
Immunogenicity does not establish clinical benefit. Viral diversity, immune exhaustion and reservoir heterogeneity complicate interpretation.
Development pathway
| Decision | Required evidence |
|---|---|
| Biological activity | Target engagement and an outcome that cannot be explained by assay noise or selection. |
| Clinical value | Meaningful benefit, adequate follow-up, safety, comparison with current standard care and transparent uncertainty. |
| Generalizability | Diverse populations, subtypes, geographies, ages and clinically relevant comorbidities. |
| Scalability | Manufacturing, delivery, monitoring, price, workforce and community acceptability. |
Principal sources and evidence gateways
Links checked 18 August 202601
NIH Strategic Plan for HIV and HIV-Related Research, updated 2025NIH Office of AIDS Research · Research strategy · Access checked 18 Aug 2026
↗02ClinicalTrials.gov HIV study registryU.S. National Library of Medicine · Registry · Access checked 18 Aug 2026
↗03Correlates of HIV-1 control after combination immunotherapyNature · Primary research · Access checked 18 Aug 2026
↗