TB vaccine reseach stepped up further with new collaboration announced in South Africa

Submitted by Henry Neondo (henry) about 1 year ago

The Aeras Global TB Vaccine Foundation and the Aurum Institute Monday announced a new collaboration to begin safety trials for a TB vaccine in people living with the human immunodeficiency virus.

The trials will be conducted among the PLWA at clinical trial site near Johannesburg, South Africa.

“We believe that an effective TB vaccine is the best hope for the achievement of the millennium goals for TB reduction and the eventual elimination of this scourge from our planet,” said Prof Gavin Churchyard, CEO of the Aurm Institute.

Dr Jerald C Sadoff , the President of the Aeras Global TB Vaccine Foundation said TB is a devastating problem among people living with HIV and it is essential that new TB vaccines were found to protect them.

Preliminary but promising clinical trial data indicate that the TB Vaccine, AERAS-402/Crucell Ad35 has produced the highest levels of CD8 immune cells---key to vaccnes effective against TB--ever seen in trials.

Data from a second Phase I study started in May 2007 in South Africa demonstrated induction of both critical arms of cellular immune system, CD4 and CD8 immune T-cells and showed that in those participants who responded, CD8 immune responses were much higher than had previously been seen in a TB vaccine study.

The Medicines Control Council of South Africa and two independent Ethics committee in South Africa have given approval to test the vaccine in South Africa.

The vaccine candidate has previously been tested for safety in healthy adults in the US and HIV negative adults and infants in South Africa.

A phase I clinical trial of the TB vaccine, doe to test safety of the candidate vaccine in adults who had previously been vaccinated with BCG and who had or did not have latent TB infection was conducted by the Kenya Medical Research Institute/Walter Reed Project in Western town of Kisumu in October 2008.

TB is the leading cause of death among people living with HIV, (PLWA) who are 20 times morel likely to develop TB than those who are HIV negative.

According to WHO 2009 TB surveillance report, one in four TB deaths globally is HIV-related, twice as many as previously recognized.

In 2007, there were an estimated 1.37 million new cases of TB among people living with HIV and 456, 00 deaths. In South Africa, the country hosting the 5th International AIDS conference, 73% of people with TB are also co-infected with HIV.

Keywords: TB vaccine

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