Trial of Group B meningococcal vaccines in adults
Current research
- HPA Centre for Infections, London, UK, HPA Vaccine Evaluation Department, London, UK
- Researchers:
Dr Ray Borrow, Prof David Goldblatt, Prof Liz Miller
- Start Date: 01 January 2000
- Type: Lay summary
- View scientific version
In this project, scientists are conducting trials of candidate vaccines in adult volunteers. Recently a vaccine has been developed to combat Group B disease in New Zealand, which could potentially protect against up to a third of Group B disease in the UK, based on current data. However, one of the biggest obstacles to Group B vaccine development is the fact that there is no reliable way to find out whether a vaccine candidate triggers an immune response that can protect against Group B disease. One of the main aims of this research is to develop methods for evaluating this. Successful methods arising from this work will be key to developing a Group B vaccine that protects all age groups, including babies and young children, who run the highest risk of Group B infection. Therefore, methods developed and standardised through this project have been rolled out to the New Zealand laboratory to assist in evaluating their vaccine. Understanding how the vaccine works in New Zealand will be of great help in understanding how vaccines may work against the strains of meningococci circulating in the UK and Ireland.
Results from this study have been published in scientific journals as follows:
Borrow R, Aaberge IS, Santos GF, Eudey TL, Oster P, Glennie A, Findlow J, Hoiby EA, Rosenqvist E, Balmer P, Martin D.
Interlaboratory standardization of the measurement of serum bactericidal activity by using human complement against meningococcal serogroup b, strain 44/76-SL, before and after vaccination with the Norwegian MenBvac outer membrane vesicle vaccine.
Clin Diagn Lab Immunol 2005 Aug;12(8):970-6.
http://cvi.asm.org/cgi/reprint/12/8/970.pdf
Findlow J, Taylor S, Aase A, Horton R, Heyderman RS, Southern J, Andrews N, Barchha R, Harrison E, Lowe A, Boxer E, Miller E.
Comparison and correlation of neisseria meningitidis serogroup B immunologic assay results and human antibody responses following three doses of the Norwegian meningococcal outer membrane vesicle vaccine MenBvac.
Infect Immun 2006 Aug;74(8):4557-65.
http://iai.asm.org/cgi/reprint/74/8/4557
Boutriau D, Poolman J, Borrow R, Findlow J, Domingo JD,, Puig-Barbera J, Baldo JM, Planelles V, Jubert A, Colomer J, Gil A, Levie K.
Immunogenicity and safety of three doses of a bivalent (B:4:p1.19,15 and B:4:p1.7-2,4) meningococcal outer membrane vesicle vaccine in healthy adolescents.
Clin Vaccine Immunol 2007 Jan;14(1):65-73. Epub 2006 Oct 25.
http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?tool=pubmed&pubmedid=17065257
Findlow J, Holland A, Martin D, Oster P, Balmer P, Borrow R.
Investigation into the use of colominic acid as an absorbent to facilitate the use of complement preserved baby rabbit serum in the Neisseria meningitidis serogroup B serum bactericidal antibody assay.
Clin Vaccine Immunol 2007 Mar 7; [Epub ahead of print].
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?CMD=search&DB=pubmed