In a Wall Street Journal opinion piece (online.wsj.com, 4/25) published April 25, Seth Berkley, MD, president and CEO of the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative, addresses the need for continued vaccine research following recent disappointing trials.

While many AIDS experts have suggested that funding be targeted less toward HIV vaccine research and more toward treating the virus—particularly following Merck’s vaccine trial cancellation last year—Dr. Berkley writes that vaccine research remains essential and should not be abandoned.

“The past two decades have produced a steady stream of incremental advances in knowledge that provide the foundation for AIDS vaccine discovery efforts now underway across the globe,” Berkley writes. “In fact, we have probably learned more about HIV and its disease course than about any other pathogen in history.”