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Content archived on 2024-06-18

Design of a vaccine to immunize neonates against GBS infections through a durable maternal immune response

Objective

Direct vaccination cannot prevent diseases that affect neonates in the first days of life. Group B Streptococcus (GBS) is the major cause of neonatal septicemia and meningitis affecting up to one in every thousand live births. Over 80% of cases occur in the first 7 days after birth and the remaining 20% of disease occurs between 8-90 days after birth. Studies carried out in the USA indicate that high titres of maternal antibody to GBS capsular polysaccharides (CPS) correlate with reduced risk of disease in neonates suggesting that maternal immunization may be an effective strategy for delivery of a protective immune response to the child in this early period. The overall objective of this proposal is to design immunization strategies capable of inducing strong durable and placentally transferable protective immune responses against GBS in women in order to fill this gap in early infancy when direct immunization is not possible. Starting with the genome sequence of 8 strains of GBS, Novartis scientists have identified three proteins that confer protection against lethal challenge in neonatal mice from immunized females. Combinations of CPS conjugates plus the recombinant proteins conferred protection against 12 of 12 GBS strains representing the major disease causing serotypes. In order to translate this research into a viable vaccine it will be necessary to identify appropriate adjuvant and delivery systems capable of inducing a protective response which will last through pregnancy. In order to select the serotypes of CPS to include in the vaccine, it will be necessary to understand the serotype distribution of GBS disease in Europe. Furthermore, an immune surrogate of protection will be required to replace efficacy trials. This proposal will address these issues by evaluating adjuvant and delivery in mouse models of disease and by analysis of maternal antibody levels and strain characteristics in cases versus controls obtained from several countries in Europe

Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)

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Keywords

Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)

Programme(s)

Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.

Topic(s)

Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.

Call for proposal

Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.

FP7-HEALTH-2007-A
See other projects for this call

Funding Scheme

Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.

CP-FP - Small or medium-scale focused research project

Coordinator

GLAXOSMITHKLINE VACCINES SRL
EU contribution
€ 907 800,00
Address
VIA FIORENTINA 1
53100 Siena
Italy

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Region
Centro (IT) Toscana Siena
Activity type
Private for-profit entities (excluding Higher or Secondary Education Establishments)
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Total cost

The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.

No data

Participants (9)

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