Tulane University School of Medicine Digest Vaccines & Viruses
The JPM Healthcare Week Edition
| |
|
We are nearly three years into a pandemic and FINALLY able to gather again in person at events like the JPM Healthcare Conference happening this week. In the meantime, there has been a lot of talk of vaccines among not just scientists and biotech/pharma companies, but the entire American public. Instead of talking about the current vaccines, this special edition digest will focus on the ones that are in development (and possibly the subject of deals and discussions this week). Let’s get into it...
| |
First up: Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV)
Late 2022 saw a record levels of RSV cases, with November seeing more than 10,000 cases diagnosed each week in the US. Although RSV cases are currently on the decline, the recent surge highlighted the need for protection against this virus. Big pharma companies are now in a race to create the first RSV vaccine.
No FDA approved vaccine currently exists for RSV, but there are several in development. Pfizer has two RSV vaccines in its pipeline: a maternal vaccine to protect infants and a vaccine for the adult/immunocompromised population. Both vaccines are in Phase 3 trials showing promising results. GSK has also thrown their hat in the ring to develop an RSV vaccine for adults, and the FDA plans to review both the Pfizer and GSK adult vaccines in May 2023. Moderna, Janssen,Novavax, and Johnson & Johnson are in either Phase 2 or Phase 3 clinical trials, lagging slightly behind the timeline of Pfizer and GSK. Although none have been FDA approved at this time, there are hopes that at least one of these candidates will be approved by next winter season.
What about Influenza?
Late last year, flu cases spiked to the highest levels seen since the 2010-2011 flu season. After this spike, flu cases have thankfully been on the decline. Although the 2022-2023 flu vaccine appears to be a good match for the circulating strains (get your flu vaccine!), this is not always the case. Flu vaccines are typically created a year in advance, where certain strains are selected to be in the vaccine based on which strains are predicted to circulate. These predictions are not always correct, which has created a great amount frustration in the science community and a rise in flu vaccine hesitancy.
One potential response to this continuing problem would be the creation of a universal flu vaccine. An NIH-funded study at the University of Pennsylvania has taken on this challenge by working on an mRNA vaccine that protects against all 20 flu strains (our current flu vaccine only protects against four strains). Promising preliminary results published in Science showed mice and ferrets produced neutralizing antibodies that provide protection against all strains. All vaccinated mice in the study remained relatively healthy (no deaths) when challenged with the strains in the universal vaccine. Although these results have yet to be replicated in humans, they show the exciting potential efficacy of a universal mRNA flu vaccine.
Are there any more vaccines in the pipeline?
Too many to name! The development of new vaccine technologies has opened doors to the potential protection against many diseases, including Epstein-Barr virus, cytomegalovirus, herpes, Multiple Sclerosis, cancer, and HIV. An exciting new study from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center recently published in Science focused on creating an HIV vaccine with broadly neutralizing antibodies to precursor B cells—a notably difficult target to reach. A study from Brigham and Women’s Hospital at Harvard showed impressive results for a cancer vaccine that shows the potential to not only kill brain tumors, but also to prevent them. Tulane University has also been working on an incredible vaccine technology that has the ability to elicit both humoral and cellular immune responses, making the vaccines longer lasting and more effective. This new technology is suitable for use with any microbe or antigen and has been tested in multiple virus and bacterial challenge models, making it the ideal adjuvant. If you are at JPM and interested in learning more about T-Vant, reach out to our Chief Business Office James Zanewicz for an in-person meeting.
These aforementioned incredible scientific advancements are just a sampling of many in development, and truly only scratch the surface of the potential benefit of vaccines. Although these technologies are not yet available to the public, the future is looking bright.
| |
The quick facts:
- Newest COVID-19 strain is called XBB.1.5
- It is an offshoot from the BA.1 variant of Omicron
- It is the most contagious variant to date
- It was first detected in New York around Thanksgiving
- Responsible for 75% of new COVID-19 cases in the US
- An article published in Cell reveals XBB.1.5’s immune evasion comes from 14 new mutations to the spike protein, allowing the virus to:
- 1.better bind to cells
- 2.better evade neutralizing antibodies from previous infections and vaccines
- XBB.1.5 is completely resistant to bebtelovimab (the intravenous antibody treatment) and Evusheld (the preventative antibody shot)
The good news is that XBB.1.5 does not seem to cause different or worsening symptoms than the other COVID-19 strains. Additionally, Paxlovid (the antiviral therapeutic) does help fight this new strain. It is still recommended that everyone get vaccinated and boosted, as the T cell protection created from the vaccines are able to prevent severe disease and reduce hospitalizations. And, as always, masking and social distancing are both great ways to protect yourself and others from becoming infected.
| |
New Podcast Episodes Drop in time for JPM!
Just in time for travel entertainment and a quick listen while walking between meetings, 4 new bite-size episides of BIO from the BAYOU dropped today.
| |
|
Curated Research and Research-Related News Summaries, Analysis, and Synthesis. Published on behalf of The Tulane University School of Medicine. Content is generated by reviewing scientific papers and preprints, reputable media articles, and scientific news outlets. We aim to communicate the most current and relevant scientific, clinical, and public health information to the Tulane community – which, in keeping with Tulane’s motto, “Not for Oneself but for One’s Own", is shared with the entire world.
Special thanks to James Zanewicz and Elaine Hamm for copyediting assistance
| |
|
|
|
|