Vaccine against superbugs could be a 'game changer', say researchers

A vaccine to protect against Staphylococcus aureus could be a "game changer"
A vaccine to protect against Staphylococcus aureus could be a "game changer" Credit: Alexandru Pavalache /EyeEm

Efforts to develop an innovative vaccine to ward off superbugs have been boosted by $1.6 million of additional funding. 

The vaccine, which aims to protect against the potentially deadly Staphylococcus aureus bacteria, remains in the early stages of development but could be a “game changer” in efforts to stem antimicrobial resistance (AMR).

Each year some 700,000 people across the world die as a result of AMR – a figure set to hit 10 million by 2050. 

The S. aureus bacteria is one of 12 earmarked by the World Health Organization as a “priority pathogen” – meaning investment in new drugs is urgently required – because it is increasingly resistant to antibiotics. 

The bacteria can produce a wide range of toxins that destroy tissue and disable a patient’s immune system. Strains resistant to methicillin – known as MRSA (methicillin resistant S. aureus) – are of particular concern as these infections can lead to a range of serious illnesses, from skin and wound infections to pneumonia and sepsis. 

S. aureus is a major source of drug-resistant bacteria on the planet, so an effective vaccine to address would have a major impact,” said Professor Kevin Outterson, executive director of CARB-X and professor of law at Boston University. “[It] could save the lives of thousands, including infants, and curb the spread of the bacteria and drug resistance.

“We are really focused on prevention – the best drug-resistant infection is the one that never occurred,” he added. 

Efforts to develop a globally applicable version of the vaccine, which is currently under development by the research organisation Integrated Biotherapeutics, have been boosted this week with an additional investment of $1.6 million (roughly £1.34 million). 

The funding is from a global partnership called CARB-X, which invests in new antibiotics, vaccines and rapid diagnostics to counter the threat of AMR. The consortium is led by Boston University but also includes the Wellcome Trust, and the US, UK and German governments, among others. 

CARB-X has already invested $8.5 million in the superbug vaccine, but the additional funding will allow scientists to expand the scope to protect against the strains of S. aureus common in developing countries. 

The money will also aid efforts to develop a freeze-dried version of the inoculation that can be used in areas where cold storage systems are unavailable or unreliable. 

“Getting coverage across the world to protect the largest number of patients is critical,” said Prof Outterson. “With global travel resistant S. aureus bacteria in India or China or Africa is only one BA flight from London, and vice versa – resistance travels in both directions.”

But he added that the superbug immunisation is unlikely to be available for at least five years – and only one in 15 vaccine candidate makes it from the first clinical trials to approval by the US or European regulators. It is too early to say who would be targeted to receive the vaccine, but it's likely it would focus on the most vulnerable groups of people. 

“The company [behind the vaccine] hopes that this is a game changer, but CARB-X hopes that we can invest in a dozen or two dozen of these candidates over the next five or ten years, so that one of them becomes the game changer. 

“We need to take many shots on goal to win this game,” he said. 

Dr Tim Jinks, head of the drug-resistant infections priority programme at the Wellcome Trust, said that vaccines are crucial in the fight against AMR. 

“It is hugely important that the product is being designed for global distribution, because the impact of S. aureus is much much higher in low resource settings.

“An effective vaccine would have a dual benefit – the primary goal is to prevent the disease caused by this pathogen, but there is a strong secondary benefit. If we take out the S. aureus infectious we will resist some of the burden driving AMR overall,” Dr Jinks added. 

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