The IAVI Neutralizing Antibody Consortium was founded in 2002 as a virtual, global research consortium focused on the elicitation of neutralizing antibodies for HIV vaccine development — at a time when almost all HIV vaccine candidates in preclinical and clinical testing were focused exclusively on the elicitation of cellular immunity. In 2008, IAVI and Scripps Research founded the Neutralizing Antibody Center (NAC) as a physical laboratory based at the Scripps Research campus to serve as a central coordination hub for the Consortium to advance HIV vaccine research to elicit broadly neutralizing antibodies (bnAbs).
The NAC today continues as a field leader in studying bnAbs and the design of immunogens to elicit these antibodies through vaccination. The NAC’s research efforts bring together leading investigators — including structural and computational biologists, immunologists, protein chemists, and glycobiologists — from institutions worldwide. The successes of the NAC have seen the expansion of its research programs into other global health priorities, including neglected tropical snakebite and enteric disease. The NAC continues to evolve its research portfolio in line with IAVI’s scientific strategy by expanding research into correlates of protection analysis for late-stage vaccine trials, the discovery and design of vaccines and alternative biologics for antimicrobial resistance, and vaccine immunology and antibody discovery for emerging infectious diseases.
