A new generation of vaccines is being developed by UK scientists to protect against lethal infections such as meningitis, TB, pneumonia and the hospital superbug C. difficile.

The need
Immunisation programmes have proved successful against some of the world’s most deadly diseases, but vaccines are still not available to counteract many infections. While vaccines can protect against some strains of bacteria causing meningitis, Group B meningococcal disease has proved difficult to combat: no protection is available against all the major six deadly ‘B’ strains in the UK. Infection can be fatal or lead to deafness and brain damage.

Meningitis Research Foundation estimates that there are around 3,300 cases of bacterial meningitis and associated septicaemia every year in the UK and Ireland. This means that every day nine people become ill with the diseases. Babies are particularly vulnerable.

The results
Following a two-year study in the UK, scientists have achieved a breakthrough in developing a new type of vaccine that could eventually protect against all forms of the lethal infection.

ImmunoBiology Ltd (ImmBio), a Cambridge-based vaccine development company, builds on recent advances in our understanding of how the immune system operates and is achieving revolutionary breakthroughs in combating some of the world’s deadliest diseases, including meningitis.

ImmBio’s first success was in identifying a promising vaccine for TB, now in later development, and its progress laid the foundations for ImmBio’s second research project on meningitis, funded by the Technology Strategy Board. For two years it has worked with the University of Bristol Medical School, ERA and the UK’s Health Protection Agency (HPA) to develop a vaccine for Meningitis B, which could eventually offer protection against all forms of meningitis in a single vaccine.

In all the tests conducted so far the new vaccine provides protection against all variations of the bacteria studied, including all the major B strains. The project has also developed a commercially viable manufacturing process at a standard expected by health regulatory authorities.

The HPA is continuing to work with ImmBio on further development of the meningitis vaccine, supported by the Medical Research Council. Based on its success ImmBio has also begun further research programmes into vaccines against the hospital superbug Clostridium difficile and streptococcus pneumoniae, a respiratory infection affecting the young and elderly.

Next steps
There are additional stages to complete in the development of the meningitis vaccine but those behind the project believe it has the potential to save many lives in the future. It will require several years of human clinical trials, but data published so far has already attracted substantial commercial interest. Andrew Gorringe, section leader at the UK’s Health Protection Agency says: ‘Meningitis B has proved particularly difficult to address but this data is significantly the most promising anyone has generated to date, in terms of the strength and breadth of likely protection, and from a single vaccine.’

Innovation Results : New vaccine could prevent deadly infections

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