VaxGen's AidsVax: behavior chart reveals volunteers unusually drawn to unsafe sex

The failure of AidsVax to prevent infection with HIV - in clinical trial results published in 2003 - triggered an intense debate about the controversial product and its manufacturer, VaxGen Inc of Brisbane, California. Mail to this website, maintained by Brian Deer, shows that existing material on a VaxGen-AidsVax index is read by significant numbers. This page seeks to further inform the discussion

Data presented by VaxGen Inc on March 31 2003 showing that men who have sex with men, recruited to participate the company's phase III US trial of its candidate vaccine AidsVax between 1998 and 2003, seemed disproportionately attracted to unsafe sex. At the start of their participation, one fifth reported knowingly having unprotected anal sex with an HIV-positive partner, with half of them reporting receptive anal sex with an HIV-positive partner. The figures point to the strong recruitment of "barebackers" into the trial, a somewhat different group to typical gay men.