Dr. Yong Kang

A Two-Decade Quest to End Aids

“This vaccine has the potential of saving millions of lives,” says Yong Kang, a professor of Microbiology and Immunology in the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry at The University of Western Ontario. It’s always wise to have realistic expectations, but Kang hopes he is closer to finding a cure for HIV/AIDS – and he’s already much nearer to succeeding than most have ever been.

The AIDS pandemic has killed more than 25 million people and infected 40 million more since the virus was first discovered in 1981, and experts say a viable vaccine is the best hope of ending the tragedy. Kang's tireless quest to develop a vaccine against HIV/AIDS has spanned nearly two decades and has just entered a new phase. "The results look encouraging, and we are now moving onto pre-clinical animal toxicology trials," he says.

Kang's work has produced one of the few technologies to make it so far in a process where dozens of other potential vaccines have failed. His technology could not only produce antibodies against HIV, but also prime T-cells to destroy cells harboring the virus, essentially curing a patient with HIV infection.

"We created a genetically modified HIV and recombinant human adenoviruses to develop a vaccine which can prevent HIV infection and clear HIV-infected cells. It can produce antibodies against HIV and educate one type of white blood cells to find infected cells and kill them," explains Kang. "We hope the vaccine will not only prevent HIV infection, but that it can be used as an immuno-therapeutic agent."

With the help of Western’s Industry Liaison office, Kang licensed his inventions to Curocom, a publicly traded holding company in Korea. Curocom is sponsoring research in Kang's lab and recently opened a subsidiary office at Western’s Research Park to accelerate aspects of the commercialization process of the HIV vaccine program.

Kang’s vaccine is currently being manufactured in a Maryland laboratory in anticipation of FDA approval to continue with Phase 1 and 2 human clinical trials. His vaccine could be available for therapeutic use within three years and for use as a preventive vaccine within the next six years.

Kang was educated in Korea and Denmark for his undergraduate studies, received his Ph.D. from McMaster University, D.Sc. from Carleton University and did his postdoctoral training at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. He taught at the University of Texas and the University of Ottawa, before coming to The University of Western Ontario as the Dean of Science in 1992.

For further information, please contact Dr. Yong Kang using the Email contact form or by phone at 519 661-3226