Institute of Medical Science, University of Tokyo, Astellas collaborate to develop rice-based oral vaccine, MucoRice-CTB for cholera & E coli
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Tokyo, Japan
June 27 , 2016
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The Institute of Medical Science, the University of Tokyo and Astellas
Pharma Inc. announced that they have signed a new collaborative
development agreement on the rice-based oral vaccine “MucoRice-CTB”
(MucoRice) against cholera and enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (E coli)
caused diarrheal diseases.
MucoRice is a rice-based oral vaccine
expressing cholera toxin B subunit (CTB) in the intrinsic storage
protein of rice using genetic engineering, which was developed by Prof.
Hiroshi Kiyono, Project researcher Yoshikazu Yuki and their colleagues
at International Research Development Center for Mucosal Vaccines
(IMSUT).
In developing countries, diarrhea caused by pathogenic
bacteria such as Vibrio cholerae and enterotoxigenic E coli, is one of
the major causes of death among infants. At present, the challenges of
the cholera vaccines used in developing countries are the need for the
cold chain and the ineffectiveness against enterotoxigenic E coli.
MucoRice is stable at room temperature and easily produced, therefore it
is expected to meet the unmet medical needs of existing cholera
vaccines. Under the MEXT (Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports,
Science and Technology) and the AMED (Japan Agency for Medical Research
and Development) Translational Research Network Program, an
investigator-initiated phase 1 trial of this vaccine is nearing
completion at IMSUT hospital (Principal investigator, Assoc. Prof. Osamu
Hosono) in Japan. Data from this trial is now being analyzed.
Under
the contract, IMSUT provides clinical trial materials and trial data,
etc. which are necessary for the phase 1 and phase 2 trials of MucoRice
for cholera and enterotoxigenic E coli., and Astellas is responsible for
conducting and managing the clinical trials.
Through the
collaborative development, IMSUT and Astellas will develop vaccines
against infectious diseases affecting developing countries and hope we
can address Access to Health issues.
Cholera is an acute
gastroenteritis by Vibrio cholera which produce cholera toxin causing
severe diarrhea. It is spread through contaminated food or water,
therefore it is more common in developing countries.
Enterotoxigenic
E coli is the E coli which produces a toxin that causes diarrhea and
abdominal pain in humans. Severe diarrhea is caused by ingesting food or
water contaminated by it. It is common in areas that lacks an adequate
environmental sanitation, responsible for diarrhea in infants, and is
also known to be a major cause of diarrhea in tourists who visit these
areas.
Cholera toxin consists of 2 types of subunits, CTA (chorea
toxin A subunit) is toxic, and CTB pentamer adheres to epithelial cells
and delivers CTA into the cell.
The cold chain is a system to store and transport vaccine at a constant low temperature to maintain its effect.
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TOPICS
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