Founded in 1995 and based in South San Francisco, California, the company was engaged in the development of vaccines that immunize against infectious disease, notably AIDS.
Specifically, NIAID and Vaxgen worked together on research projects related to the body's immune response to the vaccine.
As of 1998, according to NIAID, "The three-year study [of AIDSVAX] is the first large-scale trial of an HIV preventive vaccine, and will involve 5,000 volunteers at about 40 clinical sites in North America."
Dr. Anthony Fauci said, "The effort to develop a safe and effective vaccine against HIV/AIDS is a global imperative and the highest priority of the NIH AIDS research program.
[7] In December 2006, the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) unilaterally withdrew the $877 million contract, sending the stock tumbling as low as $1.20 per share.