12.02.10
Streptococcus vaccine trials a success for Intercell
Vienna – Austria-based Intercell AG yesterday announced that its first-in-man trial of the subunit vaccine IV47, designed to prevent infections from the majority of so Streptococcus pneumoniae serotypes, of which there are over 90. Two dose levels of the recombinant protein vaccine, consisting of two proprietary conserved Streptococcus pneumonia antigens and the PsaA antigen, were well tolerated by 32 healthy adults when administerd with or without adjuvans (aluminium hydroxide). According to Intercell, the vaccine was immunogenic, and antigen dose-dependent induction of antibodies was confirmed for all three proteins of the vaccine. The study was supported by PATH, an international global health non-profit organization is aiding the development of this vaccine. The partnership of Intercell and PATH (more...) aligns the goals of each organisation: Intercell’s pursuit of a vaccine for the elderly in the US and Europe and PATH’s goal of an affordable vaccine for infants and children (more...) in the developing world. Current vaccines against S. pneumoniae do not target the serotypes that are commonly found in Asian or African children. Pneumococcal disease kills about 1.6 million people each year, with more than half of those deaths in children less than five years old in developing countries.