Recombinant MVA viruses expressing clade A/G, clade B, and clade C modified HIV env, gag and pol genes

1. A pharmaceutical composition comprising a recombinant MVA virus comprising a sequence encoding an HIV Env antigen inserted into deletion site II of an MVA and a sequence encoding HIV Gag and Pol antigens inserted into deletion site III of the MVA genome, and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier;

wherein the sequence encoding the HIV Env antigen comprises SEQ ID NO:3 and the sequence encoding the HIV Gag and Pol antigens comprises SEQ ID NO: 4;

wherein the transcription of the sequence encoding the HIV Env antigen is under the control of a first promoter and transcription of the sequence encoding the HIV Gag and Pol antigens is under the control of a second promoter and wherein the noncoding sequence between the first promoter and the initiation codon of the sequence encoding the HIV Env antigen comprises SEQ ID NO:8.

2. A recombinant MVA virus comprising a sequence encoding an HIV Env antigen inserted into deletion site II of an MVA and a sequence encoding HIV Gag and Pol antigens inserted into deletion site III of the MVA;

wherein the sequence encoding the HIV Env antigen consists of SEQ ID NO:3 and the sequence encoding the HIV Gag and Pol antigens comprises SEQ ID NO: 4;

wherein the transcription of the sequence encoding the HIV Env antigen is under the control of a first promoter and transcription of the sequence encoding the HIV Gag and Pol antigens is under the control of a second promoter and wherein the non-coding sequence between the first promoter and the initiation codon of the sequence encoding the HIV Env antigen comprises SEQ ID NO:8.

3. A recombinant MVA virus comprising a sequence encoding an HIV Env antigen inserted into deletion site II of the MVA and a sequence encoding HIV Gag and Pol antigens inserted into deletion site III of the MVA;

wherein the sequence encoding the HIV Env antigen comprises SEQ ID NO:3 and the sequence encoding the HIV Gag and Pol antigens comprises SEQ ID NO: 4;

wherein the transcription of the sequence encoding the HIV Env antigen is under the control of a first promoter and transcription of the sequence encoding the HIV Gag and Pol antigens is under the control of a second promoter and wherein the sequence between the first promoter and the initiation codon of the sequence encoding the HIV Env antigen comprises SEQ ID NO:8.

4. A recombinant MVA virus comprising a sequence encoding an HIV Env antigen inserted into deletion site II of the MVA and a sequence encoding HIV Gag and Pol antigens inserted into deletion site III of the MVA;

wherein the sequence encoding the HIV Env antigen consists of SEQ ID NO:3 and the sequence encoding the HIV Gag and Pol antigens consists of SEQ ID NO: 4;

wherein the transcription of the sequence encoding the HIV Env antigen is under the control of a first promoter and transcription of the sequence encoding the HIV Gag and Pol antigens is under the control of a second promoter and wherein the sequence between the first promoter and the initiation codon of the sequence encoding the HIV Env antigen comprises SEQ ID NO:8.

5. The pharmaceutical composition of claim 1 wherein the composition is formulated for intravenous, cutaneous or subcutaneous, nasal, intramuscular, intraperitoneal, intradermal, or mucosal routes.

6. The pharmaceutical composition of claim 1 wherein the composition further comprises at least one pharmaceutically acceptable excipient, carrier, buffer, and/or stabilizer.

7. The pharmaceutical composition of claim 6 wherein the composition further comprises physiological saline solution, dextrose or other saccharide solution or glycols such as ethylene glycol, propylene glycol or polyethylene glycol.

8. The recombinant MVA virus of any of claims 1 , 2 and 3 - 4 constructed from MVA 1974/NIH Clone 1.

9. The recombinant MVA virus of any of claims 1 , 2 and 3 - 4 wherein both the first promoter and the second promoter comprise the mH5 promoter.

10. A method of boosting a CD8 + T cell or antibody immune response to an HIV Env, Gag, or Pol antigen in a primate, the method comprising administering to the primate the composition of any of claims 1 , 2 and 3 - 4 , whereby a CD8 + T cell or antibody immune response to the antigen previously primed in the primate by previous administration of a nucleic acid molecule encoding a Env, Gag, or Pol antigen is boosted.

11. A method of inducing a CD8 + T cell or antibody immune response to an HIV Env, Gag, or Pol antigen in a primate, the method comprising administering to the primate a priming composition comprising a nucleic acid molecule encoding an HIV Env, Gag, or Pol antigen and then administering to the primate the recombinant MVA of any of claims 1 , 2 and 3 - 4 , whereby a CD8 + T cell or antibody immune response to the antigen is induced.

12. The method of claim 10 , wherein the primate is a human.

13. The recombinant MVA virus of claim 8 wherein both the first promoter and the second promoter comprise the mH5 promoter.

14. The method of claim 11 , wherein the primate is a human.

15. The method of claim 10 , wherein the recombinant MVA is administered at a dose of about 10 6 to 10 9 infectious virus particles/injection.

16. The method of claim 11 , wherein the recombinant MVA is administered at a dose of about 10 6 to 10 9 infectious virus particles/injection.