TB VACCINE R&D.
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TB and TB vaccine R&D
Tuberculosis (TB) remains a major global health threat. It is the world’s deadliest infectious disease, killing over 30 million people since 1993; today, 4,000 die of TB every day. The need for a universally effective vaccine has never been greater. New TB vaccines are essential for meeting the World Health Organization’s goal to reduce TB cases by 90% by 2035. Recent significant trial results, including a promising TB vaccine candidate heading towards late-stage testing, suggest new effective TB vaccines can be developed in the coming decade if appropriate investments are made.
Limited impact of existing vaccine
The most widely used vaccine globally, Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG), is an attenuated bovine mycobacterial strain that when administered to infants protects against meningitis and disseminated TB in young children. The vaccine also has some efficacy in protecting against lung disease in children but offers variable and mostly poor protection against lung disease in adolescents and adults. The latter populations spread TB in the community.
TB and Antimicrobial resistance (AMR)
The rising levels of multi-drug resistant TB (MDR-TB) and extensively drug-resistant TB (XDR-TB) are recognized as a growing global health security issue, posing significant impacts on human health and potentially incurring heavy economic costs. There are around 600,000 cases of drug-resistant TB (MDR/XDR) every year globally, with treatment of drug-resistant TB cases successful in only 50% of the cases. The 2016 Review on Antimicrobial Resistance described TB as a cornerstone of the global AMR challenge. The Review estimated that TB has the potential to cause a quarter of all deaths from drug-resistant infections by 2050.
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The most impactful manner to interrupt the global TB epidemic and prevent the spread of drug-resistant TB would be with a universally effective vaccine.
Why TB Vaccines?
TB Vaccine Development Pathway.
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In the effort to eradicate tuberculosis as one of the world’s most deadly diseases, novel TB vaccines will be an important part of the solution. There is a pipeline of new TB vaccines that provides guidance for global and comprehensive coordination of efforts with defined stages of development and criteria for the progression of individual vaccine candidates.
The TB Vaccine Development Pathway proposes an assessment process to track progress and make decisions on the advancement of a tuberculosis vaccine candidate to its next stage of development.
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Launched at the Ninth EDCTP Forum on Wednesday 19 September 2018, the pathway also describes the different functions and capabilities required to advance a candidate TB vaccine to its next stage of development.
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The Pathway was developed by experts from TBVI and IAVI on behalf of the GTBVP, and consolidated with a variety of stakeholders in the field of TB vaccines.
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The new web-based TB Vaccine Development Pathway is an update and expansion of the published criteria and stages and is now available to the entire TB vaccine community on the Web. The criteria will continue to evolve over time and will incorporate scientific and technical progress and input from users.
TB Vaccines Pipeline.
The TB Vaccine Pipeline showcases TB vaccine candidates across all stages of the clinical development pathway according to vaccine-type and population targeted.
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