However, the new antibody, designed in collaboration between the US National Institutes of Health and the pharmaceutical company Sanofi, attacks three key parts of the virus.

This makes it harder for the virus to resist the antibodies, according to a paper published in the journal, Science.

Prof Linda-Gail Bekker, the president of the International Aids Society, told the BBC: "This paper reports an exciting breakthrough.

"These super-engineered antibodies seem to go beyond the natural and could have more applications than we have imagined to date.

"It's early days yet, and as a scientist, I look forward to seeing the first trials get off the ground in 2018."

It is estimated that 36.7 million people across the world had HIV or AIDS at the end of 2015, the majority of whom were living in sub-Saharan Africa.