Therapeutic vaccines against HIV need international partnerships.

The successes of anti-retroviral treatments against HIV are limited today by the cost and toxicity of lifelong administration. An innovative therapeutic strategy has been proposed to boost the immune system of infected patients with HIV vaccines and to help limit the use of anti-retroviral treatments. This perspective article reviews the crucial questions raised by such a strategy and the main international efforts that are already set up to provide rapid answers--in particular, a not-for-profit international network that is dedicated to the development of therapeutic immunization programmes against HIV.