RNA vaccine aims to control HIV without daily pills
NCT ID NCT07698600
First seen Jul 13, 2026 · Last updated Aug 21, 2026 · Updated 2 times
Summary
This study tests an experimental RNA-based vaccine called BNT168 in adults both with and without HIV. The goal is to see if the vaccine is safe, triggers an immune response, and can help control the amount of virus in the body. Participants receive either the vaccine or a placebo injection. The trial is early-stage and focuses on safety and immune markers.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- BNT168 (RNA-based vaccine)
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this vaccine could help control HIV virus levels without daily medication, potentially reducing the need for lifelong antiretroviral therapy.
- What could go wrong
- This is an early phase 1/2 trial with only 126 participants, so results may not apply broadly. The vaccine may not trigger a strong enough immune response or could cause side effects.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Phase 1
The first testing in people. Mainly checks safety and dose, usually in a small group.
- Participants
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About 126 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Aug 2026
- Expected to finish
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Feb 2028
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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A company
The lead sponsor is a pharmaceutical, biotech, or medical-device company.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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18 to 50 years
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Accepted
You do not need to have the condition being studied to take part.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Key Inclusion Criteria: * Are 18 to 50 years of age inclusive at the time of giving informed consent. * For PLWOH: Individuals who are HIV-1 and HIV-2 negative at Visit 0. For PLWH: Individuals who are HIV-1 positive and HIV-2 negative at Visit 0. * Have not received an HIV vaccination or HIV broadly neutralizing antibody in another clinical study. * Are overall healthy as defined in the protocol. * Individuals who have screening hematology and/or blood chemistry laboratory values as defined in the protocol. * For PLWOH, starting at Visit 0 and continuously until the last planned visit in this study, individuals who: * Are assessed by the investigator as having a low likelihood of acquiring HIV and are committed to avoiding behaviors associated with a higher likelihood of acquiring HIV until the End of Study Visit. * Agree to discuss HIV disease risks. * Agree to HIV infection risk reduction counseling. * For PLWH, individuals who: * Have been on stable continuous cART for at least 12 months (defined as no interruptions longer than 14 continuous days) and with no changes in the components of the cART for at least 12 weeks prior to Visit 1. * Are not on a non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor at screening. * Have never received lenacapavir and have not received other long-acting antiretroviral therapies in the last 2 years (i.e., intramuscular cabotegravir, cabotegravir-rilpivirine). * Are willing to undergo HIV transmission risk reduction counseling and to maintain low-risk behavior to protect their partners. * Have a CD4+ T cell count of ≥500 cells/µL at Visit 0. * Per medical history, any available prior CD4+ T cell count must be ≥350 cells/µL. * Have plasma HIV-1 RNA levels of \<50 cps/mL for ≥6 months prior to study entry per investigator review of records and/or participant history (single measurements of \<200 cps/mL are allowed if preceded and followed by values of \<50 cps/mL). * Are willing to stop cART and undergo ATI at the timepoint defined in the protocol. * Are willing to re-initiate cART upon meeting cART restart criteria. * Site investigator anticipates that a fully active alternative cART regimen could be constructed and would be available in the event of virologic failure on the participant's current cART regimen. * Agree not to donate blood from the time of first IMP administration until 90 days after the last IMP administration for PLWOH and until the End of Study Visit for PLWH. Key Exclusion Criteria: * Have had major surgery (e.g., major cardiopulmonary or abdominal operations) as per the investigator's judgment within 4 weeks before Visit 0, or will not have fully recovered from surgery, or have major surgery planned during the time the participants are expected to participate in the study. * Have an abnormal electrocardiogram at Visit 0 as specified in the protocol. * Have any existing condition which may affect IMP injection and/or assessment of local reactions, e.g., tattoos, severe scars, etc. * Have any bleeding diathesis or condition associated with prolonged bleeding that, in the opinion of the investigator, could compromise their wellbeing if they participate in the study. * Have any current febrile illness (body temperature \>38.0°C/\>100.4°F) or other acute illness within 48 hours prior to IMP administration * Have any current or history of cardiovascular diseases, e.g., myocarditis, pericarditis, myocardial infarction, congestive heart failure, cardiomyopathy or clinically significant arrhythmias, or any clinically significant cardiac disease per the investigator's judgment. * Have Grade ≥2 hypertension per Food and Drug Administration toxicity grading scale at screening. * Have a known or suspected impairment/alteration of immune function, autoimmune disease, or immunodeficiency (except HIV for PLWH), including receipt of any immunostimulant, immunomodulator, immunosuppressive medication, immunoglobulin, or blood/plasma product within 60 days prior to Visit 1 or planned administration during the study. Use of inhaled, intranasal, topical, or locally injected corticosteroids (e.g., intraarticular or intrabursal administration) is acceptable. * Have a history of malignancy within 5 years before screening. Exceptions are squamous and basal cell carcinomas of the skin and carcinoma in situ of the cervix, or a malignancy which is considered in the investigator's judgment to have minimal risk of recurrence. Any malignancy that is an AIDS-defining illness per protocol is exclusionary regardless of perceived risk of recurrence. * Have received any live vaccines within 28 days prior to Visit 0 or any other vaccines within 14 days prior to Visit 0 or who are planning to receive any vaccine within 28 days of each IMP dose. When possible, standard of care vaccinations should be planned with the study interventions in mind. * For PLWH: Have a history of opportunistic infections and/or AIDS-defining illnesses according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 2014 and the National Institutes of Health 2024. * For PLWOH: Have current untreated or incompletely treated active tuberculosis infection (by history or concerning symptoms). For PLWH: Have current untreated or incompletely treated active tuberculosis infection (by history or concerning symptoms or sputum molecular testing) or current latent tuberculosis infection (by blood interferon-gamma release assay \[IGRA\]). Not excluded: Participants who have a positive IGRA but were fully treated for latent or active tuberculosis infection, per history, review of available records, and per investigator discretion. * For PLWH: Have untreated or incompletely treated syphilis or genital, oropharyngeal or rectal gonorrhea or chlamydia infection. * For PLWH: Have a history of multi-class drug resistant HIV-1 infection defined as resistance to three or more classes of HIV drugs. * Have an estimated glomerular filtration rate of \<45 mL/min/1.73 m2 using the 2021 chronic kidney disease epidemiology creatinine equation. * History of any serious adverse reactions (including anaphylaxis, respiratory distress, angioedema, or urticaria) to vaccines or to vaccine components such as lipids. * Have a history of progressive or severe neurologic disorder, seizure disorder, or Guillain-Barré syndrome. * Have a history of diabetes mellitus type 1 or type 2, a screening hemoglobin A1c ≥6.5%, or are taking any medication for treatment of diabetes. (Not excluded: A history of isolated gestational diabetes.) NOTE: Other protocol defined Inclusion/Exclusion criteria apply.
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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The Crofoot Research Center
RECRUITINGHouston, Texas, 77098, United States
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