One way to close the gap is to commercialise the results of scientific research. The Department of Science and Technology says it is committed to value-adding of research and development, yet it stopped its funding to the South African Aids Vaccine Initiative. How does cutting funding for HIV and Aids research add value? SAAVI is developing a vaccine specifically for subtype C, which is the dominant strain of the HIV epidemic in South Africa. The DST says that since the vaccine has entered clinical trials, the department's job is done.