BMBF funds Zika vaccine research group at LMU stat : drugtargetreview

BMBF funds Zika vaccine research group at LMU4 SHARESPosted: 8 February 2017 | Niamh Marriott (Digital Editor: addiction Target Review) |The research group will explore novel approaches to vaccine development, focusing on the Zika virus. According to the Robert Koch Institute, the Zika virus has spread to more than 40 countries in Latin America since 2014. At Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitaet Muenchen (LMU) in Munich's Institute for Infectious Diseases, Dr Asisa Volz will lead a new junior research group devoted to the development of vaccines against emerging viral threats, with a particular focus on the Zika virus. The Federal Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF) has announced that it has agreed to fund a new Junior Research Group in the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine at LMU, in accordance with a proposal submitted by the Institute for Infectious Diseases and Zoonoses. The MVA vaccine platform has been developed at the Institute for Infectious Diseases and Zoonoses as a basis for the study and the production of so-called vector vaccines.




Read more:Years before Zika vaccine becomes availableWHO: Zika no longer a 'global health emergency'New clues on how Zika virus causes microcephaly Zika vaccine – iStock ~An innovative vaccine made from genetic material protected lab animals from the Zika virus in experiments, scientists report, calling it a "promising" lead in fighting the threat to humans. Read: Brazil says Zika vaccine will take 3 to 5 yearsOnce there, the vaccine RNA is incorporated into the cell's protein-making machinery, where it mimics the action of a live virus vaccine – building up an immune response. "This candidate vaccine represents a promising strategy for the global fight against Zika virus." Build-up of antibodiesThe World Health Organisation declared a global health emergency in February last year, and declared it over in mid-November.


The World Health Organisation says about 40 potential vaccines for the Zika virus are being tested. An earlier outbreak of a less severe form of Zika hit tens of thousands of people in French Polynesia in 2013. Photo: 123.rfIn a statement to mark the first anniversary of WHO declaring Zika as an international emergency, it says it is unlikely a vaccine will be available for women of childbearing age before 2020. To date, 29 countries have reported thousands of babies born with Zika-linked microcephaly. The WHO says five vaccines are entering or about to enter into clinical trial for safety and ability to induce an immune response.



collected by :Lucy William
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