College Stock: Penny Stock News

As the HIV population literally increases day by day, more and more reports are coming to the surface questioning the legitimacy of the results released by the United States Army for their Thailand AIDS trial last month.

The Wall Street Journal and other sources have picked up on the fact that the Army didn’t disclose a second analysis of a vaccine which appeared to provide an above average level of protection when compared to other HIV trial vaccines.

The Dean taught the CollegeStock Community about this scandal on Monday and controversy continues to surround these trials. One report from Pharmalot.com suggests that this “second analysis” wasn’t taken into consideration when the Army released the results of the trial because they were “statistically insignificant.”

The Dean believes this could mean that the vaccine might not be effective at all, as the initially reported 31% effectiveness could in actuality be less than half of the reported efficacy.

What’s puzzling for researchers and journalists the most is why Jerome Kim, a scientist from the U.S. Army involved in the trials, has come forward with this information that ultimately debunks the trial results.

The scientific and medical community await the full trial results which will be revealed at the AIDS Vaccine Conference in Paris next week. The Dean believes many are viewing these results with a critical eye because developments in the HIV/AIDS arena are so important to millions of infected people around the world.

Figures show that as many as 35 million people are infected with HIV throughout the world and at least 2 million more are infected every year. If an effective HIV/AIDS vaccine or treatment isn’t found within the next decade the infected population could easily jump as much as 50% by 2020.

The Dean can clearly see that the battle against HIV/AIDS is no easy feat but when a vaccine or curable treatment is discovered it could be the most lucrative medical find of the 21st century. This is why The Dean firmly believes in the massive potential in companies like $VRAL working to develop a vaccine for this deadly disease.

Perhaps the most bothersome thing about the Thailand AIDS trials is that the question of whether the Army, the Thai government and the National Institute of Health hurried to deliver their modestly positive results before the AIDS Vaccine Conference next week.

Despite all the attention and hope the Thailand trial appeared to bring the world and the scientific community in September, the Wall Street Journal believes the trial “may turn out to be another inconclusive AIDS-vaccine effort.”

If this ends up being true, The Dean’s curious about what will happen to the $5 billion the Obama administration gave to the National Institute of Health two weeks ago. Seeing what has happened on Wall Street, The Dean’s pretty sure the money won’t be given back but let’s hope that the Recovery Act makes sure to deliver the remaining $95 billion in funds to medical companies and organizations that will actually benefit HIV/AIDS research.