Virax secures seven new investors in HIV vacc consortium

Melbourne, Australia-based Virax says that seven new global mining companies have now joined its consortium to fund the first emerging-country trials of Virax's VIR201 HIV/AIDS vaccine, to take place in South Africa.

The consortium now includes: BHP Billiton (cornerstone investor), Gold Fields, Harmony Gold Mining, Lonmin, Mitsubishi Materials Corp, Nippon Mining and Metals, Sumitomo Metal Mining, and Rio Tinto. The firms are now part of Virax' non-profit organization for corporate donors with significant operations and interests in South Africa and other African countries where HIV/AIDS is endemic to provide funding for a Phase I/IIa trial in an emerging-country environment. Virax hopes to achieve full funding for the project by early next year.