""""""""Urinary tract infections (UTI) constitute a serious health problem for various community and hospitalized populations. It is estimated that as great as 50% of all women will experience at least one UTI during their lifetime. Technological advances in bacterial pilus research at Provac have led to the development of an E. coli Multivalent Pilus Vaccine with a primary indication for UTI. The long term objective is to evaluate the safety and efficacy of the vaccine in human clinical trials. The vaccine is anticipated to be a broad-spectrum, highly efficacious commercial product. Preclinical studies, in an experimental UTI murine model under development, have supported the positive effect of immunization against homologous challenges with univalent pilus vaccines. The immediate aim is to demonstrate heterologous protection with a multivalent purified-pilus vaccine in a murine model when challenged with human clinical isolates expressing the prevalent pilus types, Type I and P pili. The duration of the antibody response will also be monitored both locally and systematically. These experiments should provide the first supportive evidence that a multiple-pilus vaccine can be efficacious for UTI before extensive human clinical testing begins.""""""""
