Sourced from: http://www.sabin.org
Sabin Vaccine Institute (Sabin) in a recent press release announced that the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is providing it with a grant for two years amounting to $12 million aimed at continuing the development of a vaccine to prevent human hookworm infection, a parasitic disease that affects 600 million people worldwide.
“There is a significant need for greater funding to develop affordable vaccines that address the needs of the world’s poor,” said Dr. Peter Hotez, President of Sabin. “The Gates Foundation – together with the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Brazilian Ministry of Health – is demonstrating a real commitment to Sabin’s goal of breaking the cycle of poverty for millions of people by providing them with accessible and affordable NTD vaccines.”
Hookworm is the most commonly found infection in sub-Saharan Africa, Southeast Asia and Latin America and is a main cause for the global burden of iron-deficiency anaemia that disproportionately affects children and women of reproductive age.
The infection leads to approximately 65,000 deaths and the loss of up to 22 million disability adjusted life years (DALYs) annually. Hookworm is one of the seven most common neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), which together carry a greater health burden than malaria and tuberculosis and rival that of HIV/AIDS.
This funding for hookworm vaccine can play an important role in improving the global maternal and child health scenario. Chronic hookworm infection in children contributes to physical and intellectual impairment, learning difficulties and poor school performance, while iron-deficiency anemia in women of reproductive age reduces their health and economic potential.
Currently, the best tool available to control hookworm infection is the use of mass drug administration with one of two benzimidazole anthelminthic drugs (albendazole or mebendazole). However, the efficacy of existing treatments has the potential to diminish over time, which is a major driver for the development of a vaccine to prevent hookworm infections.
The hookworm vaccine is being developed through an international product development partnership (PDP) led by the Sabin Vaccine Institute. Members of the PDP include Fundação Oswaldo Cruz and Instituto Butantan in Brazil, James Cook University in Australia, the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine in the United Kingdom, The George Washington University, University of Kansas and the National Institute of Parasite Diseases, Chinese Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, among other key collaborating organizations.
The hookworm vaccine under development is a recombinant protein-based vaccine for the prevention of disease caused by the hookworm species Necator americanus, which accounts for 85% of hookworm cases throughout the world.
“The PDP will initiate two Phase 1 clinical trials of new hookworm vaccine candidates in Brazil during the next 12 months,” said Dr. David Diemert, Director of Clinical Trials at Sabin. “This funding will sustain development of a vaccine with the potential to make a significant positive impact in impoverished communities around the world.”
