Would a HIV vaccine be ready before the end of 2016?

A pivotal clinical trial of a novel HIV vaccine regimen is expected to get underway in South Africa during 2016, according to AP.
Some 252 HIV-free South Africans to get the HVTN 100experimental regimen, which has been adapted to the HIV subtype that predominates in southern Africa. The regimen includes two separate vaccines, plus booster shots after one year. Pre-clinical trials suggest that it may confer at least 50% protection against the acquisition of HIV.

The safety and immunogenicity findings generated from the HVTN 100 trial will help determine whether this vaccine regimen will be tested in a larger study in South Africa.

According to ‘Contagion’ the Infectious Diseases Today’s magazine, the new clinical trial will examine a vaccine regimen specifically designed for virus subtype C, which is currently circulating the southern countries of Africa. This trial will build on the findings of the RV144 trial, led by a United States military program in Thailand, which found the vaccine to be 31.2% effective for 3.5 years after initial vaccination.

Two vaccines will be used together in the regimen to be examined in the HVTN 100 trial: ALVAC-HIV, a canarypox-based vaccine produced by Sanofi Pasteur; and a protein vaccine using an adjuvant to boost immune response, produced by Novartis Vaccines. According to the press release, the Phase I/II trial will enroll 252 HIV-uninfected heterosexual adults between the ages of 18 and 40 years, who will receive eight vaccine injections over one year, after which they will receive booster shots.