The vaccine was developed by University of Western Ontario professor Dr. Chil-Yong Kang, who is being supported by Sumagen Canada Inc.

The makers of the vaccine -- dubbed SAV001-H -- have sought an application from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to begin human testing.

According to Sumagen Canada, the vaccine has already been tested on animals, without any identified adverse effects or safety risks.

It has already been patented in more than 70 countries around the world.

If approved, the human testing for the vaccine will have two phases: The first will test its safety, the second will test how much of an immune response that the vaccine stimulates.

Sumagen Canada, which is a subsidiary of a Korean drug research company, says it is prepared to start a clinical trial for the vaccine as soon as the FDA gives its approval.

To date, no cure has been found for HIV/AIDS despite years of research. The most recent clinical trials for other vaccines have been unsuccessful.

In December, Nobel Prize winner Luc Montagnier predicted that is "a matter of four to five years" before an HIV vaccine is developed.

Montagnier was one of two scientists to discover the HIV virus in 1983.

He was awarded the 2008 Nobel Prize in medicine last October.

With files from The Associated Press