On February 4, Aeras released the results of a clinical trial of one of their TB vaccine candidates. The trial was conducted in South Africa with nearly 3,000 infants and while the vaccine was safe and well-tolerated, ultimately it was not found to provide protection against TB. Although the results were not what researchers had hoped, the trial was the first of its kind and proved that a large-scale clinical trial to test a TB vaccine in infants can be successfully run in a country with a high TB burden like South Africa. Researchers also pointed out that there are twelve other TB vaccines in clinical development and the infrastructure built through this trial can be used to test these candidates in the future.
Instead of being disappointed with the results, the global health community must move forward in the fight against TB with renewed urgency. TB kills 1.4 million each year and over 12 million suffer from TB infection. Cases of drug-resistant TB are on the rise and the existing treatments are extremely complex and expensive, meaning that only 3% of drug-resistant patients receive proper treatment. The economic cost of TB is also enormous – in South Africa alone, TB control costs nearly $300 million each year. New drugs, diagnostics and vaccines are urgently needed to saves lives and money.
-Morgan McCloskey, global health intern
Research!America Blog 