Travel Vaccine Breaking News

PharmaJet® today announced that its partner, Scancell, reported positive results from their Phase 1 COVIDITY clinical trial. The trial was conducted at the University of Cape Town Lung Institute in South Africa to assess the safety and immunogenicity of their COVID-19 DNA candidate vaccines, SCOV1 and SCOV2.

The results from the trial were highly encouraging, inducing neutralizing antibody and T cell responses with no safety concerns. Administration with PharmaJet's devices was well received by study participants.

This new set of human data adds to the growing evidence indicating that this modern needle-free administration technology is an increasingly viable option to enhance plasmid DNA vaccine immune response.

The vaccines were exclusively administered using the PharmaJet Tropis® and Stratis® needle-free precision delivery systems.

Professor Lindy Durrant, Chief Executive Officer, Scancell, commented in a press release on March 21, 2023, "We are encouraged by these results."

"The trial validates that AvidiMab®-modified immunotherapies boost immune responses and PharmaJet's Needle-free Injection Systems are effective in delivering our ImmunoBody®-generated drug candidate."

"Our plans are to include PharmaJet Needle-free precision delivery systems in future trials with our immuno-oncology projects."

PharmaJet Needle-free precision delivery Systems provide increased vaccine effectiveness, a preferred patient and caregiver experience, and a proven path to commercialization.

The Stratis® System has U.S. FDA 510(k) marketing clearance, CE Mark, and WHO PQS certification to deliver medications and vaccines either intramuscularly or subcutaneously.

The Tropis® System has CE Mark and WHO PQS certification for intradermal injections.

They are both commercially available for global immunization programs.

Note: This news article is not paid content.

Despite recent improvements in diagnostic tools, chikungunya outbreaks in Africa are probably underreported, stated a U.S. CDC Early Release Dispatch, Volume 29, Number 4—April 2023.

During 2019–2020, a large-scale chikungunya outbreak occurred in Djibouti City, the capital city of the Republic of Djibouti, located in the Horn of Africa.

Djibouti is a semi-arid country bordered by Eritrea, Somalia, and Ethiopia. In this region, the primary vector of the chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is the Aedes aegypti mosquito. 

The chikungunya outbreak remained limited (attack rate 2.1%) but was followed by a dengue outbreak.

These researchers found clinical features helpful but insufficient to discriminate between chikungunya and dengue viruses.

However, CHIKV blood samples on blotting paper have been described as a field method for detecting arboviruses, routinely used in the French Armed Forces when deployed in Africa.

In this study, the researchers used blood samples on blotting paper to detect the emergence of CHIKV and monitor the course of the outbreaks.

Blotting paper provided a robust method for blood sampling and transport to a reference laboratory, making it possible to confirm 90% of the arboviral diagnoses.

We recommend blotting paper as a field tool to detect and monitor arboviral epidemics remotely, wrote these researchers.

Various countries, like Paraguay, are reporting chikungunya outbreaks in remote areas.

As of March 21, 2023, no chikungunya vaccines are authorized in Africa, Europe, or the U.S.

The peer review journal The Lancet Infectious Diseases published the results from a recent study examining prospective respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) surveillance data to assess the geotemporal prevalence of RSV A and B and functionally characterize the effect of the nirsevimab binding-site substitutions identified between 2015 and 2021.

Nirsevimab (Beyfortus®), an extended half-life monoclonal antibody (mAbs) to the RSV fusion protein, has been developed to protect infants for an entire RSV season. 

This AstraZeneca and Sanofi-funded observational analysis concluded on March 17, 2023, nirsevimab binding site was highly conserved, and escape variants were rare and have not increased over time.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) initially approved an injectable mAbs therapy for children in 1998.

Beyfortus has been granted various regulatory approvals.

As of March 21, 2023, neither the FDA nor the European Medicines Agency approved an RSV vaccine candidate for children or older adults.

However, various authorizations are expected in 2023.

Sweden's Public Health Agency recently reported several severe influenza cases have occurred in Orebro County, located west of Stockholm. Complications can occur in connection with influenza infection, but this outbreak is unusual. 

The spread of influenza A and B is estimated to continue throughout the country as of March 17, 2023.

During week #10, there was roughly the same number of cases of influenza A (385 cases) as influenza B (364 cases). 

So far, eleven newly admitted patients with laboratory-confirmed influenza have been reported in intensive care during week 10, of which six with influenza A and five with influenza B. 

The current investigation aims to assess whether there are more influenza B cases with serious complications than expected and whether there is any common contributing cause. Therefore, the Public Health Authority has asked other infection control units to investigate whether there are similar cases in other regions.

Of the 21 countries that reported sentinel primary care specimen influenza virus positivity above the 10% epidemic threshold, France, Hungary, Romania, and Slovenia reported activity above 40%.

So far, sequencing of clinical specimens from severe cases in Sweden has identified B/Victoria viruses belonging to subgroup V1A.3a.2, which is the dominant influenza type B virus circulating across Europe and the northern hemisphere 2022-23 and 2023-24 influenza vaccine strain (B/Austria/1359417/2021-like virus).

When traveling abroad, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggests getting a second flu shot if visiting an area with influenza activity.

Various flu shots are available in the U.S. at health clinics and travel pharmacies.

Vaccitech plc today announced topline interim data from the HPV001 Phase 1b/2 clinical trial of VTP-200 heterologous prime-boost immunotherapy in women with low-grade cervical human papillomavirus (HPV) lesions.

It is estimated that approximately 291 million women worldwide are carriers of HPV DNA.

Data from the first 58 women enrolled who reached their 6-month timepoint in the HPV001 placebo-controlled study were reviewed internally, and the trial will continue as planned to the 12-month primary endpoint. Immunogenicity results showed high responses, defined as an average greater than 1,000 spot-forming units per million peripheral blood mononuclear cells in an ELISPOT assay, especially to the E1, E2, and E6 antigens.

VTP-200 was generally well-tolerated with no product-related grade 3 unsolicited events and no product-related SAEs.

"These interim data are a promising step in the right direction, and we look forward to seeing the final data in early 2024," said Bill Enright, CEO of Vaccitech, in a press release on March 20, 2023.

"Currently, people with persistent HPV infections have no treatment options until they develop high-grade lesions. Being told to return for a repeat cervical screening every 6 to 12 months without a treatment option can be frustrating and anxiety-provoking."

"VTP-200 is intended to treat HPV infections, potentially before the virus causes these high-grade lesions."

VTP-200 is being developed as a potential non-invasive treatment for persistent high-risk HPV infections and associated pre-cancerous lesions.

Persistent genital HPV infection is responsible for almost all cases of cervical pre-cancerous lesions, which can lead to cervical carcinoma.

Over 95% of cervical cancers are caused by HPV infection.

The American Cancer Society predicts that in 2022, approximately 14,100 new cases of invasive cervical cancer were diagnosed in the U.S., with over 4,280 women dying from the disease.

In the U.S., various HPV vaccines are authorized for women and men and available at most clinics and clinical pharmacies in March 2023.

AfricaNews recently reported the United Republic of Tanzania requested medical experts investigate a mysterious "communicable" disease that has already killed five people in the country in March 2023.

Outbreaks are not new in the east African country of Tanzania.

In July 2022, a disease whose symptoms included nosebleeds, fever, headaches, and fatigue, was detected in the Lindi region. A total of 13 patients were detected then.

The World Health Organization later confirmed 20 cases of leptospirosis in two districts in the Lindi Region, including three deaths. The majority of these cases were men who were farmers as of August 8, 2022.

And in 2019, a disease with Ebola-like symptoms killed one woman who had visited Uganda, where an Ebola outbreak was detected.

Tanzania was formed as a sovereign state in 1964 through the combination of Tanganyika and Zanzibar, reports Britannica.  

No U.S. CDC health notices are in effect for Tanzania, including Zanzibar, as of March 18, 2023.

The Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson recently announced an early-stage antiviral candidate (JNJ-1802) provides strong protection against dengue in non-human primates and mice.

The new data indicate JNJ-1802 is effective against all four dengue serotypes in mouse models and provides strong protection against two tested serotypes (DENV-1 and -2) in non-human primates.

The first-in-class antiviral, which was shown to be safe and well tolerated in a first-in-human clinical study, is progressing into Phase 2 clinical studies for the prevention and treatment of dengue.

"The unprecedented rise in dengue outbreaks throughout the past years offers a glimpse of what lies ahead ....." said Ruxandra Draghia-Akli, M.D., Ph.D., Global Head, Global Public Health R&D at Janssen Research & Development, LLC, in a press release on March 15, 2023.

"We know an antiviral will be critical to addressing the unmet needs today and tomorrow."

The peer-review journal Nature published this study: Blocking NS3–NS4B interaction inhibits dengue virus in non-human primates. These findings support the further clinical development of JNJ-1802, a first-in-class antiviral agent against dengue, which is now progressing in clinical studies to prevent and treat dengue.