Researchers at Trinity have developed a new platform for vaccine delivery they say could revolutionise treatment for respiratory infections.
Whooping cough (also known as pertussis) is a highly contagious respiratory disease that causes long bouts of coughing and choking making it hard for sufferers to breathe. It’s a serious condition, and for babies under 12 months old it can be fatal. Despite a vaccine available, the disease has seen a resurgence in recent decades.
Studies have shown that the currently available vaccine, which is administered by injection, prevents severe disease, but does not prevent respiratory infection, resulting in asymptomatic spread. It has also been found that immunity wanes rapidly after you get the vaccine.
In a study published in Nature Microbiology today (10 November), researchers from Trinity College Dublin’s School of Biochemistry and Immunology have shown promising pre-clinical results for a new, nasally delivered vaccine for whooping cough.
Led by Prof Kingston Mills and Dr Davoud Jazayeri, the research team has developed “a fundamentally different kind of vaccine”. It contains a formulation of the disease treated with the antibiotic ciprofloxacin, which they call antibiotic-inactivated Bordetella pertussis (AIBP) vaccine and is administered nasally rather than by injection. This vaccine triggers a novel immune response that not only prevents severe disease but also curbs bacterial transmission which could prevent the spread of the disease in the community. The team believes the distinct immune response will also increase long-term immunity and protect against mutated strains of the disease.
Image: Davoud Jazayeri
Aside from these promising pre-clinical results, the vaccine is cheaper to produce than current formulations and easy to administer via a nasal spray or simple nebuliser.
This novel vaccine development addresses an urgent global need for next-generation immunisation technologies, the researchers said.
Speaking to SiliconRepublic.com, Mills said they have very strong pre-clinical data and are making plans to progress to the next stage of vaccine development – securing regulatory approval to begin clinical trials with people.
The team needs to secure funding for the clinical trials, which are expensive and lengthy. They can do this by spinning out a company from the university to raise funds, or by applying for EU funding – a slower option, according to Mills.
Mills, who was named Researcher of the Year in 2020 for his work on immunology and vaccines, said he has experience of start-ups, so that sounds like the route they might go down. Though he said it’s never easy raising funds in medtech because there are such long lead times.
Vaccines for other respiratory infections
The research team are also exploring the development of vaccines for other respiratory disease using their novel methods.
They are working with Prof Rachel McLoughlin, who is based in the same department at Trinity, and is an expert in Staphylococcus aureus, to investigate how their method might work to develop a vaccine against staph infection.
They also see potential for vaccines against tuberculosis (TB) and some forms of pneumonia.
The research was initially funded through a Research Ireland Frontiers for the Future Award to Mills and is now advancing under the ARC Hub for Therapeutics, a new Research Ireland programme funded by the Irish Government and the EU to help researchers commercialise discoveries.
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