NEUTRALIZING ANTIBODY CONSORTIUM (NAC)

Image courtesy of IAVI Report; illustration provided by
Christina Corbaci/The Scripps Research Institute/IAVIThe Neutralizing Antibody Consortium (NAC) was launched by IAVI in 2002 to solve a fundamental problem in HIV vaccine development: the elicitation of antibodies that can neutralize a broad range of HIV variants. The consortium sought to draw together and coordinate the efforts of scientists working on different aspects of the problem, and so hasten progress toward a solution. From the outset, the NAC focused on elucidating the molecular structures of a handful of known broadly neutralizing anti-HIV antibodies (bNAbs) in the hope of reverse engineering vaccines on the basis of what was learned about their interactions with HIV. 

Since 2009, thanks in large measure to the efforts of the NAC, more than two dozen bNAbs have been isolated from volunteers around the world. The structures of some of the most potent of these antibodies and their targets have also been solved. These discoveries are now being applied to the design of novel AIDS vaccine candidates.

Dennis Burton,
Scientific Director of the NACThe NAC is led by Scientific Director Dennis Burton and IAVI Chief Scientific Officer Wayne Koff. Members include researchers from leading HIV research labs and clinical research centers around the world. In 2009, IAVI and The Scripps Research Institute established the IAVI Neutralizing Antibody Center at The Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, Calif., as the headquarters for the NAC.