RSV Vaccine for Infants and Children

Application

Vaccine for Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) in infants and children.

Key Benefits

A novel vaccine targeting both the F and G proteins of the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), including its variants.
Preliminary data in in mice show the vaccine induced the production of antibodies associated with preventing disease.
Potential to prevent infection and its life-threatening complications.

Market Summary

Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) is a leading cause of severe bronchiolitis in infants and young children and is responsible for 24.8 million acute respiratory tract infections and 76,600 deaths annually throughout the world. Furthermore, 50% or more of children are infected during their first year of life and 2–3% of these infections result in hospitalization. With recurrent infections throughout life, adults are also at risk for infection and serious disease. The first RSV vaccines, for elderly adults were approved by the FDA this year. Currently, there are no effective treatments for RSV. Despite being a high global priority there are still no vaccines available for infants and children.

Technical Summary

Emory researchers are developing a novel vaccine targeting both RSV’s F and G proteins with tandem repeats of the G protein to improve its breadth of protection and immunogenicity. The tandem repeats of G will allow it to cover the range of RSV strains. Thus far, the inventors have created a vaccine prototype and tested it in mice. Mice treated with the vaccine compared to a placebo control treated mice produced high antibody titers towards the virus's F and G proteins these antibodies are associated with protection from disease.