Vaccine development for old and new pathogens – how can controlled human infection models help

Abstract

Tuberculosis (TB) kills more people than any other pathogen and the only licenced vaccine, BCG, is ineffective in most of the world. There is an urgent need for a better vaccine, but TB vaccine development is scientifically challenging. An update on global progress in TB vaccine R&D, together with an overview of the development of a TB controlled human infection model using BCG will be given.
The development of a vaccine against SARS CoV2 was happily much easier than TB vaccine development. However, a SARS CoV2 controlled human infection model would still have utility in drug and vaccine R&D and an overview of the status of a SARS CoV2 controlled human infection model will also be provided.

Helen McShane FRCP, PhD, FMedSci is Director, NIHR Oxford Biomedical Research Centre; Professor of Vaccinology, University of Oxford; Deputy Head, Medical Sciences Division and an Honorary Consultant Physician in Infectious Diseases.

Since 2001, Helen has lead the TB vaccine research group at the University of Oxford, and has expertise in vaccine design through to phase IIb efficacy testing. She led the development of the first candidate TB vaccine to enter efficacy testing, and now works on alternate routes of delivery and the development of controlled human infection models for TB and SARS CoV2.

University members only.