WA Leading The Way In Strep A Vaccine Development

May 6, 2021

Telethon Kids Institute and Murdoch Children’s Research Institute are leading the initiative, which aims to develop a clinical trial testing the safety of the vaccine in 2022.

A global philanthropic organisation has backed an Australian-led bid to develop a Strep A vaccine which could save millions of lives around the world, contributing US$5.3 million to help fund a Strep A vaccine clinical trial. The grant, provided by Open Philanthropy, follows a catalytic AU$35 million investment by the Australian Government to help accelerate the development of a Strep A vaccine.

Development of a vaccine candidate is being coordinated by the Australian Strep A Vaccine Initiative (ASAVI), a partnership between the Telethon Kids Institute and the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute. ASAVI was formed to help reduce the devastating global impact of Strep A, which is responsible for more than half a million deaths a year – more than influenza, typhoid or whooping cough.

But before we get to the vaccine testing step more research is needed. Currently, the ASAVI initiative is starting a Strep A surveillance study. For this study, researchers will recruit a total of 1050 children from Perth and Melbourne, targeting healthy children aged 3 to 14 years. The primary goal of this study is to establish the incidence rates of sore throat, Strep A positive sore throat and serologically proven Strep A sore throat in these children. This will form the basis for clinical trials of a vaccine in the next few years.

Read the full article here: https://mforum.com.au/strepavaccinetrial/

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