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Startup developing HIV/AIDS vaccine is 2nd nonprofit accepted into Y Combinator

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Re: Startup developing HIV/AIDS vaccine is 2nd nonprofit accepted into Y Combinator

#21

Post by naveenspark »

humanfromearth wrote: post #5

So have they developed a vaccine, but they need money for trials, delivery..? How exactly would they go about and test if it works on humans? Are there people who volunteer to get infected with HIV?

Yes we've developed a vaccine prototype and we are raising funds for the final experiment before we start working with the FDA to file our IND and start working on our phase I clinical trial. In terms of testing on humans, the first thing you do is dose healthy volunteers and withdraw a blood sample to test for an immune response. Then assuming success in phase I, in a phase II trial we will dose high risk healthy volunteers and see if they get HIV over a time interval.

Re: Startup developing HIV/AIDS vaccine is 2nd nonprofit accepted into Y Combinator

#22

Post by weisser »

FooBarWidget wrote: post #16
mintplant wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The betterment of the world as a whole?

That's great, but the job of investors is to make money, not to better the world, isn't it?

The job of investors is to do what they want with their money and make sure they have an alignment of goals with those they give their money to.

Re: Startup developing HIV/AIDS vaccine is 2nd nonprofit accepted into Y Combinator

#23

Post by ig1 »

Given the high cost (hundreds of millions) of taking a vaccine through clinical trials, FDA approval and production I'm curious why the choice to go the non-profit route.

Is the growth plan to raise the money from large donors (Gates foundation, Wellcome Trust, etc.) or to licence the technology to more traditional pharma firms ?

Re: Startup developing HIV/AIDS vaccine is 2nd nonprofit accepted into Y Combinator

#24

Post by naveenspark »

mef wrote: post #11

Does anyone know why this approach is "viewed as a rogue project by the immunology community"? Is it just because it's new, or is there something more fundamental that conflicts with established immunology?

Hi all, this is Naveen from Immunity Project YC team. The fact that we are using ML to identify epitopes that are the preferred targets on the virus for HIV controllers is key to what makes our project unique. This is a newer approach for developing a vaccine and therefore makes it "rogue."

Re: Startup developing HIV/AIDS vaccine is 2nd nonprofit accepted into Y Combinator

#25

Post by Robin_Message »

icinnamon wrote: post #12
redofrac wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For human trials of this nature, typically at-risk populations can be used, and it's seen if there's a reduction in infection rates.

Exactly. In this case, we're lucky enough to use an amazing clinic set up in Durban, South Africa, which has a ~15% prevalence rate of HIV.

This sounds great. I'm genuinely interested, how is the potential vaccine going to be presented to volunteers in Phase I? And do you also deliver a placebo vaccine for blinding?

It seems like believing you are vaccinated would increase risky behaviour. This is bad in itself. It is also bad if the vaccine is only partially effective, since the risk effect might balance the vaccine effect.

With a placebo, knowing you only have a 50/50 chance of getting the actual trial vaccine might also help mitigate the risk effect.

Anyway, just wondering how all this works. Finding an effective vaccine would be fantastic; keep up the good work!

Re: Startup developing HIV/AIDS vaccine is 2nd nonprofit accepted into Y Combinator

#26

Post by anu_gupta »

I'd like to understand why organisations like the Gates Foundation / NIH aren't excited by this approach? I'm assuming they've rejected this, which would explain the need to crowdfinance the next part. If they haven't rejected it, why aren't they being approached for grants?

Also, where's the science? Having something in the FAQ that states "We're awaiting publication in a peer-reviewed journal" is, to be blunt, pretty lame. Is the data and research open access? If not, why not?

Re: Startup developing HIV/AIDS vaccine is 2nd nonprofit accepted into Y Combinator

#27

Post by tptacek »

FooBarWidget wrote: post #16
mintplant wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The betterment of the world as a whole?

That's great, but the job of investors is to make money, not to better the world, isn't it?

Investors are humans, like all the other humans, who happen to have the ability to commit significant funds to things, including startups, cars, and charities. There is a well- known challenge of putting large charitable donations effectively to work; that's why Warren Buffett put all his money into the Gates foundation rather than starting The Warren Buffett Foundation or donating it to the Red Cross.

Seen through that lens, it's straightforward to see how enabling people to come up with innovative and effective new charities that startup investors can help fund is a worthwhile project.

Re: Startup developing HIV/AIDS vaccine is 2nd nonprofit accepted into Y Combinator

#28

Post by naveenspark »

ig1 wrote: post #23

Given the high cost (hundreds of millions) of taking a vaccine through clinical trials, FDA approval and production I'm curious why the choice to go the non-profit route. Is the growth plan to raise the money from large donors (Gates foundation, Wellcome Trust, etc.) or to licence the technology to more traditional pharma firms ?

Most of the people who are living w/ HIV worldwide can't afford to pay for treatment. From our perspective it doesn't make sense to charge for something that the people who need it most just can't pay for. By making our project non profit we can focus on the real goal, which is ending HIV/AIDS and not creating ROI for shareholders. Yes we will need to raise significant funding over the lifetime of the project to complete this goal. The good news is that our team is very efficient. The current experiment we are hoping to execute will be done at a fraction of the price and in a fraction of the time then what it would typically cost / take at a major pharma company.

Re: Startup developing HIV/AIDS vaccine is 2nd nonprofit accepted into Y Combinator

#29

Post by ENGNR »

anu_gupta wrote: post #26

I'd like to understand why organisations like the Gates Foundation / NIH aren't excited by this approach? I'm assuming they've rejected this, which would explain the need to crowdfinance the next part. If they haven't rejected it, why aren't they being approached for grants? Also, where's the science? Having something in the FAQ that states "We're awaiting publication in a peer-reviewed journal" is, to be blunt, pret…

According to the article Microsoft Research contributed $1M in 2011 (not the Gates Foundation but related)

Re: Startup developing HIV/AIDS vaccine is 2nd nonprofit accepted into Y Combinator

#30

Post by kyro »

naveenspark wrote: post #24
mef wrote: post #11

Does anyone know why this approach is "viewed as a rogue project by the immunology community"? Is it just because it's new, or is there something more fundamental that conflicts with established immunology?

Hi all, this is Naveen from Immunity Project YC team. The fact that we are using ML to identify epitopes that are the preferred targets on the virus for HIV controllers is key to what makes our project unique. This is a newer approach for developing a vaccine and therefore makes it "rogue."

This sounds pretty fascinating. Do you have any links/resources that dives more in depth into this approach?
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