Last year French Professor Luc Montagnier jointly won the Nobel Prize for Medicine with Françoise Barré-Sinoussi for their discovery of the HIV virus in 1983. On 1 April he took part in a conference on biomedical research organised by the European Parliament. In an exclusive interview we spoke to him about his hopes for a therapeutic vaccine for AIDS sufferers within "four or five years". He also spoke of his worries about a lack of interest in scientific research by young people.

There is some disinterest among young people about scientific research. How can we make that research more attractive to them?
 
LM: Science has recently given rise to some things that are questionable for the progress of humanity. There is this idea that science is not essential to the community. We are missing a bit a culture of science, notably on TV programme especially compared to the United States for example.
 
How can we fight against that? I think we first have to show people where we are now thanks to science and medicine. Science and medical research are really indispensable; they are not a luxury but a necessity.
 
We must also convince the politicians who do not often speak about science. Often when there are economic and budget problems we tend to reduce research budgets as there will be no demonstrations in the streets compared to cutting funding in other areas.
 

Last year you received the Nobel Prize for research into HIV. In your opinion what can the European Union and the European Parliament do to improve the fight against AIDS?

 
LM: Above all, we must continue our research. All the problems have not been solved. In particular we do not have a cure or a way to prevent infection by a vaccine. The research must also be innovative. In my opinion a lot of money has been wasted, not so much in Europe but globally in searching for a preventive vaccine based on concepts that were false.

Myself I suffered from the fact that my projects for therapeutic vaccines (vaccines for people who are already infected) were refused in Europe. At the time it was considered as unethical to stop the tritherapy (treatment to slow the multiplication of the virus in the body using a combination of three anti-retroviral drugs) to test the immunizing power of a therapeutic vaccine.
 
The principle goal above all is to produce a therapeutic vaccine, not to think of a preventive vaccine. That idea is beginning to strike home, particularly in the United States.
 
On the other hand, we must try to identify the fraction of viruses that are resistant to therapy, which is called the "reservoir of the virus".
 
When do you anticipate a therapeutic vaccine could be developed?
 
LM: In four or five years from when we start research and when we have funding. (Professor Montagnier is seeking €10 million in funding for his research programme). It is a well defined project; we know exactly what we have to do. Unlike the preventive vaccine we can already demonstrate its effectiveness on a small number of patients.

This interview was originally published on the European Parliament website. Original article here.