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The Portfolio Committee on Health has lauded researchers from the Centre For The Aids Programme Of Research In South Africa (CAPRISA). This after scientists discovered that a KwaZulu-Natal woman, identified in the research as CAP256, had responded to HIV infection by producing antibodies.

According to media reports, the research team identified the antibodies in her blood, cloned them in a laboratory, and then used them to find the pathway followed by CAP256's immune system to make them. The identification and cloning of the antibodies had enabled researchers to make large quantities for further testing, similar to the way a medicine used to prevent or treat HIV would be tested.

Chairperson of the Committee, Dr Bevan Goqwana, said the breakthrough indicated a rigorous fight towards finding a cure for HIV/AIDS by scientists. “We understand that more research still needs to be done in this area but this development is welcomed as it brings us a step closer,” he said. Dr Goqwana added that the increase in funding to the Medical Research Council (MRC) was yielding results through the development of CAP256.

CAPRISA comprises scientists from Wits University, the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) in Johannesburg, the University of KwaZulu-Natal and the University of Cape Town They work together with US partners based at the Vaccine Research Center of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health, and Columbia University in New York, to conduct this research.