11.30.2007 - 12:47pm ET

(CSRwire) NEW YORK - November 30, 2007 – In honor of World AIDS Day on December 1, the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) and Yahoo! have joined forces to raise US$100,000 to support pioneering technologies for AIDS vaccine research.

IAVI and Yahoo! encourage individuals around the world to make a contribution aimed at ending the AIDS pandemic. As a leading research and advocacy organization dedicated to accelerating AIDS vaccine development, IAVI recently launched an Innovation Fund to identify and test pioneering ideas from outside the field that could lead to a much-needed breakthrough. IAVI and a team of experts will comb the globe for novel, unproven technologies that could revolutionize the way we view AIDS vaccine research.

Thanks to the generosity of an anonymous donor, every dollar donated to IAVI's Innovation Fund will be matched dollar for dollar up to US$100,000. IAVI has been a top-rated charity for the past six years; approximately 90 percent of all IAVI funds go directly toward the organization’s core initiatives aimed at accelerating AIDS vaccine development.

"As IAVI's first corporate donor, Yahoo! has been a supporter of AIDS vaccines since 2001, and we are thrilled that Yahoo! is helping us to take on this latest grant challenge," said Dr. Seth Berkley, President and CEO of IAVI. "We hope that individuals worldwide will take this opportunity to help further research to find a vaccine that will rid this world of the devastation caused by AIDS."

Currently, most vaccine candidates in testing focus on activating one arm of the immune system. Most experts believe that both arms will need to be stimulated in order for a vaccine to be fully protective against HIV. IAVI's Innovation Fund will target new technologies that can advance the development of such a vaccine.

Every day another 7,000 people are infected with HIV. Despite advances made, only 20 percent of HIV-infected individuals who urgently need antiretroviral treatment in low- and middle-income countries have access to it. AIDS is the fourth leading cause of death worldwide. An AIDS vaccine offers the world’s best hope for ending this terrible epidemic.

On December 1st, Yahoo! users can link directly from the Yahoo! homepage, www.yahoo.com, to a microsite about IAVI and AIDS vaccines or go to the microsite directly to make a donation by clicking here.

About IAVI

The International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) is a global not-for-profit organization whose mission is to ensure the development of safe, effective, accessible, preventive HIV vaccines for use throughout the world. Founded in 1996 and operational in 24 countries, IAVI and its network of collaborators research and develop vaccine candidates. IAVI's financial and in-kind supporters include the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health, The John D. Evans Foundation, The New York Community Trust, the James B. Pendleton Charitable Trust, The Rockefeller Foundation, The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation; the Governments of Canada, Denmark, Ireland, The Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States, the Basque Autonomous Government as well as the European Union; multilateral organizations such as The World Bank; corporate donors including BD (Becton, Dickinson & Co.), Continental Airlines, Google Inc., Henry Schein, Inc., Merck & Co., Inc. and Pfizer Inc; leading AIDS charities such as Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS and Until There's A Cure Foundation; other private donors such as The Haas Trusts; and many generous individuals from around the world. For more information, see www.iavi.org.

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