A Thai charity, the Salang Bunnag Foundation, which paid for the mass distribution of a product called V-1 Immunitor, is reported to have withdrawn its support. The Foundation claims that the makers of the product had fooled it and the product does not work, a conclusion previously reached by most Thai AIDS researchers and clinicians, and by people with HIV in Thailand not directly involved in promoting the product.
The Immunitor Corporation had offered its product for sale to people with HIV internationally as well as providing it free of charge, thanks to the Foundation, to tens of thousands in Thailand itself. There were concerns that its promotion, which drew on the desperation of hundreds of thousands of people with HIV who are currently unable to afford effective antiretroviral therapy, had led to some individuals ceasing to take more effective treatment to which they did have access.
The promoters of V-1 Immunitor, which is formulated as pink tablets weighing 850mg, have variously claimed it is a “mucosal vaccine” against HIV derived in some way from pooled Thai HIV strains of subtypes B and E, with antigens capable of surviving passage through the stomach, that it is “harmless”, that it has a variety of minor unwanted effects, that it is a herbal treatment and that it is not a herbal treatment. In a booklet they admitted having lied to the public as well as to the authorities on this last issue, to get “approval” to distribute it as a food supplement! Independent analysis revealed that the product contained magnesium (with or without other ingredients).
No evidence of a specific immune response was ever provided, although a report of an uncontrolled clinical trial published in a western AIDS journal (HIV Clinical Trials) suggested that it led to a measurable rise in CD8 cells when given to HIV positive people, though no connection was established between these CD8 cells and any particular components of the product. There were no animal studies supporting its efficacy, although acute toxicity tests on rats and mice were said to have been carried out (as well as cell-culture tests). Why a scientific journal should accept a study in which the nature of the product being tested is not described, which would seem to rule out the possibility of informed consent on the part of trial participants, is unclear.
The Immunitor Corporation’s website, http://www.immunitor.com, was closed down some time ago and visitors are redirected to a site maintained by the Royal Thai police.
Update to earlier report on Thai healthcare scheme
Senator Jon Ungphakorn has issued a statement correcting a report which appeared in the Christian Science Monitor, which was discussed on aidsmap. Our report has now been updated hereto include his statement.
Jirathitikal V, Bourinbaiar AS. Safety and efficacy of an oral HIV vaccine (V-1 Immunitor) in AIDS patients at various stages of the disease.
HIV Clinical Trials. 3(1):21-26, 2002.