Vasa

Schistosomiasis is an infectious disease impacting around 1 billion people in 79 countries, mostly affecting poorer communities in Africa. 'Science' ranked a schistosomiasis-vaccine as one of the top-10 vaccines urgently needed, as chemotherapy is the currently preferred method for schistosomiasis control; but the effectiveness of mass-treatment pr... ograms is compromised by reinfection requiring regular re-treatment. An efficacious vaccine, with long-lasting protection against all schistosomiasis forms, would impact disease control. VASA is thus a clinical study to develop the continued efficacy of the SchistoShield®-vaccine in Burkina Faso and Madagascar. In baboon studies this SchistoShield® vaccine has been effective against all major schistosome species. It is the only vaccine candidate having consistently exhibited potent prophylactic, anti- fecundity, egg-induced pathology resolving, transmission-blocking and therapeutic efficacy. In addition to SchistoShield®, VASA aims to establish a multidisciplinary platform linking global research teams including those from Europe and disease-endemic countries, making best use of existing experience and propose state-of-the-art solutions to combat schistosomiasis. VASA Objectives: 1) Assess the safety/immunogenicity of SchistoShield® in a Phase I clinical study in healthy adults from Africa; 2) Refine and develop a female worm schistosome human challenge model 3) To identify correlates of protection, innate and adaptive immune signatures, gene expression and the role of antibodies in the prevention/control of Schistosoma infections; 4) Foster a global consortium to advance research on schistosomiasis disease burden, vaccines and address downstream access constraints in resource-poor settings Project Duration: June 2019 May 2024 This Project has received funding from the European Unions Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement (No.815643)Read More