Thank you, Madam Chair.
I would like to begin by congratulating the Government of Canada for its commitment to making a significant and innovative contribution to the global fight against HIV/AIDS. As you know, every minute that goes by, four more people will die from this terrible disease, primarily in low- and middle-income countries and, as Alan Bernstein has pointed out already, primarily women and children.
Before I take any questions from committee members, I think it would be useful to describe for the members the International Consortium on Anti-Virals, or ICVA, and explain why we sought the contract to establish the vaccine manufacturing component of the Canadian HIV Vaccine Initiative.
ICAV is a not-for-profit drug development company with the goal of accelerating the development of treatments for viral diseases and delivering those treatments, at cost, to those who are in most need, those in low- and middle-income countries. As such we are totally aligned with the government's objectives in this program. Furthermore, over the five years we have been in operation, we have established a global network of antiviral researchers who now number more than 250 from 28 different countries. We have done this through a series of international conferences--eight so far, and there are more to come. We have held them in Nigeria, China, Australia, France, Germany, and here in Canada. In 2012 we will hold one in India. ICAV is an internationalized version of the highly successful Canadian invention, the Networks of Centres of Excellence, a program that I was associated with for 15 years.
I understand that you heard from IAVI regarding their success in generating neutralizing human monoclonal antibodies for the treatment and prevention of HIV infection. I am pleased to inform you that ICAV has developed similar technology here in Canada and has applied it to isolate neutralizing antibodies against the H1N1 influenza virus that caused the recent pandemic. In fact, it was in part because we anticipated the important emergence of neutralizing monoclonal antibodies in the management of infectious diseases that we embarked enthusiastically on the attempt to win the contract for the CHVI manufacturing facility.
Turning now to the focus of this hearing, I have to say that we were disappointed with certain aspects of the competition. During my 28 years as an academic researcher, I sat on many review committees and participated in many large grant applications. In all cases, the process of review for competitions of that size, whether led by CIHR or NSERC or even CFI, included a site visit in which the review committee physically visited the individual applicants. This provided an opportunity to clarify any misunderstandings or perceived omissions that emerged from the initial review.
We fully expected there would be a site visit in this case. It was particularly important for us because we wished to update the review committee on the exciting new partnership we had established with BioVectra, a Canadian contract manufacturing organization based in P.E.I. with extensive commercial-scale manufacturing capabilities, which brought considerable additional strength to our application. We attributed this lack of contact with the Public Health Agency to set up a site visit to the extraordinary demands on that agency in managing Canada's response to the H1N1 pandemic.
We were therefore extremely concerned when the rumours began to circulate that the vaccine production facility was to be cancelled, and then greatly relieved when we learned this substantial financial commitment was to be redeployed to contribute in some other way to the acceleration of the strategies to address the global HIV/AIDS pandemic.
It is clear to most in the field that the recent disappointments from clinical trials of HIV vaccines are simply revealing our collective ignorance of the complexities of the interaction between the HIV virus and the human immune system. Clearly, more research will be necessary, as you've heard from Dr. Bernstein and Dr. Bertozzi.
However, I would be remiss if I did not take this opportunity to point out to the committees that vaccines are not the only tool available. Dr. Bernstein mentioned that we won't treat our way out of this epidemic, but while we are waiting for a vaccine—and what I say here is extemporaneous and not in my written remarks—we are going to have to deal with the 33 million people in the world who currently live with HIV/AIDS.
So there is an emerging role for antiviral drugs in the prevention of transmission. Treating an infected individual reduces the number of viruses in his or her body and, as a result, reduces the probability of transmission to someone else. This is as true for HIV as it is for influenza.
Furthermore, as Dr. Michel Sidibé, Executive Director of UNAIDS, has recently emphasized, there is a desperate need for a new generation of effective, low-cost drugs to treat HIV infection.
I urge this committee to be proactive as the Public Health Agency and the Gates Foundation review their options. These funds must be applied effectively. Yes, some of this resource should be directed at a better understanding of the basic human immunological responses to HIV infection, as Dr. Fowke has pointed out.
But remember that for 20 years it has been antiviral drugs that have allowed those infected with HIV to live longer and better lives. Some of this resource must be committed to what we know works--more and better low-cost antiviral drugs. That is where an immediate and proven strategy can be successful and a significant contribution by Canada can be made. ICAV stands ready to help.
Thank you for your time. I would be pleased to answer questions.