Researchers have made what could be a significant discovery in the long-term search for an Aids vaccine, identifying two new broadly neutralising antibodies to HIV (bNAbs) that reveal what may be an Achilles heel on the virus.

These bNAbs are the first to have been identified in more than a decade, and also the first to have been isolated from donors in developing countries, where the majority of new HIV infections occur.

The research paper published in Science magazine reveals that researchers at IAVI, The Scripps Research Institute, Theraclone Sciences and Monogram Biosciences will now try to exploit the new-found vulnerability on the virus to craft novel approaches to designing an Aids vaccine.

What's more, the global collaboration and process that led to the discovery of the two bNAbs are likely to produce more such antibodies, that may in turn reveal additional vulnerabilities of HIV, adding still more vitality to the effort to develop a vaccine against Aids. - Health-e News