VaxGen, Inc., Fighting the AIDS Epidemic

The VaxGen, Inc. case details the efforts of VaxGen and its president, Don Francis, to obtain approval to conduct phase III clinical trials in Thailand for AIDSVAX, an experimental vaccine designed to protect against human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), the virus that causes AIDS. Francis must grapple with a host of ethical questions, from how sure he needs to be that AIDSVAX will be effective to warrant the involvement of thousands of subjects in clinical trials to what type of compensation or treatment, if any, should be offered to volunteer subjects in third world countries where the standard for AIDS treatment is much lower than in the United States.