V2 hotspot optimized MVA vaccine expressing stabilized HIV-1 Clade C envelope Gp140 delays acquisition of heterologous Clade C Tier 2 challenges in Mamu-A*01 negative Rhesus Macaques.

Stabilized HIV envelope (Env) trimeric protein immunogens have been shown to induce strong autologous neutralizing antibody response. However, there is limited data on the immunogenicity and efficacy of stabilized Env expressed by a viral vector-based immunogen. Here, we compared the immunogenicity and efficacy of two modified vaccinia Ankara (MVA) vaccines based on variable loop 2 hotspot (V2 HS) optimized C.