Schistosomiasis is a major neglected tropical disease of public health concern to a billion people with 200 million currently infected and 779 million at risk to acquire the infection, the majority of these in Africa. The disease has a high impact on affected people's lives with disability adjusted life years at 70 million years which rank this malady ahead of malaria. Current control strategies have been geared toward repeated with a drug discovered in the 1970s and standards for monitoring administration and progress have been inconsistent and inadequate. Reliance on the drug therapy approach alone is a poor strategy since this approach has had little impact on the reduction of disease transmission and there is always the inherent threat of drug resistance being developed by the parasite. A prophylactic schistosomiasis vaccine that provides at least 50% protection would play an important role in dramatically reducing the impact of this disease. Vaccine-generated immune responses could lead to reduced worm burdens and lower egg production and ultimately result in lower transmission. This application is an extension of our systematic and methodical approach towards developing a vaccine for schistosomiasis. Over the last twenty years, we have applied this strategy towards developing Sm-p80 into a viable vaccine candidate. At present, to our knowledge, Sm- p80 is the sole schistosome vaccine candidate that has been tested for prevention, interruption of transmission and in therapy. Our candidate vaccine has three protective effects: worm reduction, egg reduction, and protection against acute disease. Funding this application will help our continuing efforts to develop Sm-p80 towards manufacture for future human clinical trials, ultimately resulting in an approved vaccine.

Public Health Relevance

A low-cost, effective vaccine for schistosomiasis would greatly aid in the fight against this debilitating disease. By discovering and validating a new candidate vaccine we intend to progress toward a commercial product leading to an improvement in global health.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
Type
Small Business Innovation Research Grants (SBIR) - Phase I (R43)
Project #
5R43AI103983-02
Application #
8601290
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZRG1-IMM-N (12))
Program Officer
MO, Annie X Y
Project Start
2013-01-01
Project End
2014-12-31
Budget Start
2014-01-01
Budget End
2014-12-31
Support Year
2
Fiscal Year
2014
Total Cost
$300,000
Indirect Cost
Name
Protein Advances, Inc.
Department
Type
DUNS #
148051621
City
Seattle
State
WA
Country
United States
Zip Code
98104
Zhang, Weidong; Ahmad, Gul; Molehin, Adebayo J et al. (2018) Schistosoma mansoni antigen Sm-p80: prophylactic efficacy using TLR4 agonist vaccine adjuvant glucopyranosyl lipid A-Alum in murine and non-human primate models. J Investig Med 66:1124-1132
Zhang, Weidong; Molehin, Adebayo J; Rojo, Juan U et al. (2018) Sm-p80-based schistosomiasis vaccine: double-blind preclinical trial in baboons demonstrates comprehensive prophylactic and parasite transmission-blocking efficacy. Ann N Y Acad Sci 1425:38-51
Molehin, Adebayo J; Sennoune, Souad R; Zhang, Weidong et al. (2017) Cross-species prophylactic efficacy of Sm-p80-based vaccine and intracellular localization of Sm-p80/Sm-p80 ortholog proteins during development in Schistosoma mansoni, Schistosoma japonicum, and Schistosoma haematobium. Parasitol Res 116:3175-3188
Siddiqui, Afzal A; Siddiqui, Sabrina Z (2017) Sm-p80-Based Schistosomiasis Vaccine: Preparation for Human Clinical Trials. Trends Parasitol 33:194-201
Molehin, Adebayo J; Rojo, Juan U; Siddiqui, Sabrina Z et al. (2016) Development of a schistosomiasis vaccine. Expert Rev Vaccines 15:619-27
Karmakar, Souvik; Zhang, Weidong; Ahmad, Gul et al. (2014) Use of an Sm-p80-based therapeutic vaccine to kill established adult schistosome parasites in chronically infected baboons. J Infect Dis 209:1929-40
Karmakar, Souvik; Zhang, Weidong; Ahmad, Gul et al. (2014) Cross-species protection: Schistosoma mansoni Sm-p80 vaccine confers protection against Schistosoma haematobium in hamsters and baboons. Vaccine 32:1296-303
Zhang, Weidong; Ahmad, Gul; Le, Loc et al. (2014) Longevity of Sm-p80-specific antibody responses following vaccination with Sm-p80 vaccine in mice and baboons and transplacental transfer of Sm-p80-specific antibodies in a baboon. Parasitol Res 113:2239-50