In the clinical trial set to begin later this year, about 3,800 men will receive a regimen of shots to test its efficacy.
If the vaccine is successful, it would be the first immunization against the deadly disease.
J&J is working to make a vaccine that will work in populations around the world that are infected with various strains of the virus. Other vaccines in late-stage studies have focused on preventing a single strain.
“The cost of treating HIV patients — the burden for patients, the burden for society — is very high,” Paul Stoffels, J&J’s chief scientific officer, told Bloomberg. HIV prevention is “a big mission for us. We’ve been working on it for almost 30 years.”
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