[Ip-health] IAVI announces $150,000 challenge in search of new approaches to AIDS vaccine design

[Sarah Rimmington]

I note that one of the key project criteria is that the proposed design
should offer the Seeker "freedom to practice", i.e. there should be no
patents or patent applications preventing the use of the solution. A
solution that fully meets the requirements will be awarded $150,000, and
the winning solver will become eligible to further receive bonuses
and/or research contracts for an amount up to $500,000.


http://www.fiercebiotech.com/press-releases/international-aids-vaccine-initiative-posts-150-000-challenge-search-new-approaches-a

Published on FierceBiotech (http://www.fiercebiotech.com)
The International AIDS Vaccine Initiative Posts $150,000 Challenge in
Search of New Approaches to AIDS Vaccine Design
By calisha
Created Dec 17 2008 - 3:42pm

The International AIDS Vaccine Initiative Posts $150,000 Challenge on
InnoCentive in Search of New Approaches to AIDS Vaccine Design

Seeking Novel Protein Design to Help Solve the Neutralizing Antibody Problem

WALTHAM, MA--(Marketwire - December 17, 2008) - InnoCentive, Inc., the
global innovation marketplace, today announced that the International
AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI), a global not-for-profit organization
whose mission is to ensure the development of safe, effective,
accessible, preventive HIV vaccines for use throughout the world, has
posted a $150,000 Challenge on InnoCentive's Web site. The Challenge
seeks proposals for and a sample of the protein that will provide
researchers with new avenues for furthering HIV vaccine design and
development.

Specifically, the Challenge calls for the design of a protein -- or
trimer -- that mimics the part of the HIV envelope that is first visible
to the body's host defenses. In animal models and other experimental
systems, this envelope trimer has triggered antibody immune responses
that have successfully blocked HIV from entering cells and thus
prevented HIV infection. Unfortunately, the trimer, in its natural
state, is unstable and breaks down easily when it enters the body. To
date, investigators have been unable to design a stable trimer that
remains consistently intact in laboratory testing. The winner of this
Challenge will be the researcher who successfully designs and creates a
mimic of a stable functional HIV envelope trimer. IAVI will then test
the trimer to see what kinds of immune responses it generates. If the
trimer is sufficiently immunogenic, researchers will also be eligible
for a bonus of up to $1 million dollars and/or the opportunity to pursue
their research further with support from IAVI.

"A preventive vaccine is the world's best hope of ending the AIDS
pandemic. By drawing upon the diverse talent pool of InnoCentive's
Solvers, IAVI hopes to find an out-of-the-box solution to one of the
most pressing challenges facing AIDS vaccine researchers today," said
Dr. Seth Berkley, President and CEO of IAVI. "If successful, this
Challenge will pave the road to designing immunogens that can elicit
broadly neutralizing antibodies against HIV and bring us several steps
closer to our goal of a vaccine that can prevent infection from HIV."

"With the increasing spread of HIV, it is imperative that a vaccine is
developed. By connecting IAVI with our network of 165,000 Solvers, we
are utilizing the power of a global community to collapse the
drug-discovery timeline," said Dwayne Spradlin, CEO of InnoCentive, Inc.
"This is one of several Challenges that have been posted on our site
seeking such solutions, and to date the solutions have helped Seekers
take their research to new levels. I have no doubt that this will also
be the case with IAVI's Challenge."

In 2007, 33.2 million people were living with HIV worldwide. About 2.5
million people became newly infected with HIV and an estimated 2.1
million lost their lives to AIDS. On average, people require life-saving
antiretroviral (ARV) treatment seven to ten years after becoming
infected with HIV. But despite recent progress in increasing access to
treatment and prevention programs, HIV continues to outpace the global
response to the virus with at least 70 percent of those in clinical need
of ARV treatments worldwide not receiving them. IAVI estimates that the
potential positive impact of HIV vaccines would be enormous, especially
in the developing world.

The Challenge is being supported in part by The Rockefeller Foundation,
an InnoCentive partner, as part of its Accelerating Innovation for
Development Initiative, which supports the application of new innovation
models to solve challenges facing poor or vulnerable populations around
the world.

"Over the past decade, IAVI has catalyzed a wave of innovation in the
quest for a preventive HIV vaccine," said Tara Acharya, Associate
Director at the Rockefeller Foundation. "We hope that InnoCentive's
global community of Solvers can help further this innovation and bring
the world closer to a successful vaccine."

IAVI's Challenge represents one of several posted on InnoCentive's site
seeking new drug discovery methods for potentially fatal diseases,
including a Challenge posted by the TB Alliance that recently awarded
two Solvers $40,000 for their solutions and a Challenge posted by
Prize4Life that is seeking a biomarker for measuring disease progression
in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS or Lou Gehrig's Disease). The
Challenge is now posted on InnoCentive until February 28, 2009 and can
be found at:
https://www.innocentive.com/servlets/account/Login.po?id=7634854.

About IAVI

The International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) is a global
not-for-profit organization whose mission is to ensure the development
of safe, effective, accessible, preventive HIV vaccines for use
throughout the world. Founded in 1996 and operational in 24 countries,
IAVI and its network of collaborators research and develop vaccine
candidates. IAVI's financial and in-kind supporters include the Alfred
P. Sloan Foundation, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Foundation
for the National Institutes of Health, The John D. Evans Foundation, The
New York Community Trust, the James B. Pendleton Charitable Trust, The
Rockefeller Foundation, The Starr Foundation, The William and Flora
Hewlett Foundation; the Governments of Canada, Denmark, India, Ireland,
The Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the
United States, the Basque Autonomous Government as well as the European
Union; multilateral organizations such as The World Bank; corporate
donors including BD (Becton, Dickinson & Co.), Bristol-Myers Squibb,
Continental Airlines, Google Inc., Henry Schein, Inc., Merck & Co.,
Inc., Pfizer Inc and Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc.; leading AIDS
charities such as Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS and Until There's A
Cure Foundation; other private donors such as The Haas Trusts; and many
generous individuals from around the world. For more information, visit
www.iavi.org.

About The Rockefeller Foundation

The Rockefeller Foundation was established by John D. Rockefeller, Sr.
in 1913, and works around the world to ensure that globalization's
benefits and opportunities are spread more fully in more communities.
Since 2005, The Rockefeller Foundation has launched major efforts to
bolster local resilience to the global climate crisis, mobilize an
agricultural revolution in Africa, rebuild New Orleans in the wake of
Katrina, and shape smarter, more sustainable transportation policies in
the United States. It also recently commenced a $70 million Campaign for
American Workers to shape new policy proposals and financial products
that promote and protect savings, access to health care, and secure
retirements.

About InnoCentive

Founded in 2001, InnoCentive built the first global web community for
open innovation, enabling scientists, engineers, professionals and
entrepreneurs to collaborate to deliver breakthrough solutions for
R&D-driven organizations. InnoCentive Seekers, who collectively spend
billions of dollars on R&D, submit complex problems to the InnoCentive
Marketplace where more than 165,000 engineers, scientists, inventors,
business people, and research organizations in more than 175 countries
are invited to solve them. Solvers who deliver the most innovative
solutions receive financial awards ranging up to US$1,000,000.
InnoCentive's Seekers include commercial, government and non-profit
organizations such as Avery Dennison, SAP, Procter & Gamble, Pendulum,
Eli Lilly and Company, Janssen, Solvay and The Rockefeller Foundation.
For more information on InnoCentive, go to: www.innocentive.com.

InnoCentive and InnoCentive Challenge are registered trademarks of
InnoCentive, Inc. Other product or service names mentioned herein are
the trademarks of their respective owners.
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--
Sarah Rimmington
Attorney
Essential Action, Access to Medicines Project
Washington, DC
Tel: (202) 387-8030
Cell: (202) 422-2687
www.essentialaction.org/access/