Many presentations dealt with the lessons learnt and trying to answer questions as to why the STEP trial failed and whether there needed to be a fundamental shift in focus.
The STEP trial was halted prematurely last year when analysis of the data suggested that that those who received the vaccine, which cannot cause HIV infection, might have an increased susceptibility to acquiring HIV and it was found that the Merck candidate vaccine neither prevented HIV infection nor lessened the amount of virus in those who became infected. One of the STEP trial arms, Phambili, was in its early stages in South Africa.
