Lassa fever vaccine enters phase 1 clinical trial

This dose-ranging study will assess the safety and immunogenicity of the candidate vaccine for both the rabies virus and LASV

2025-03-17

(Press-News.org) Thomas Jefferson University has initiated a phase 1 clinical trial for a Lassa virus (LASV) vaccine developed at Jefferson in collaboration with the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB), at the Center of Vaccine Development and Global Health, UMB. Currently, there are no approved vaccines against the Lassa virus. The clinical study is a dose-ranging study that will assess the safety and immunogenicity of the candidate vaccine for both the rabies virus and LASV.

The experimental vaccine is based on an attenuated and killed rabies virus vaccine similar to current rabies vaccines and has an additional LASV protein. Rabies vaccines are safe for all people, including pregnant women and children, and have been administered to millions of people worldwide with few side effects.

Lassa virus causes a viral hemorrhagic disease that can be fatal and causes permanent hearing loss in 30% of survivors. Lassa virus is endemic in West Africa, and it has a reservoir in rodents. There are an estimated 100,000 to 300,000 human infections yearly, which cause about 5,000 deaths. In addition, person-to-person transmission of LASV has been described. Notably, on October 28, 2024, a middle-aged resident of Iowa succumbed to the LASV-induced disease after returning from a trip to West Africa. This was the 9th case in the U.S since 1969.

The trial is currently enrolling healthy volunteers.

The candidate vaccine development is supported by a contract award from the NIH National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases HHSN272201700082C.

Media Contact: Deborah Balthazar, 267-254-9851, deborah.balthazar@jefferson.edu

About Jefferson

Nationally ranked, Jefferson, which is principally located in the greater Philadelphia region, Lehigh Valley and eastern Pennsylvania and southern New Jersey, is reimagining health care and higher education to create unparalleled value. Jefferson is more than 65,000 people strong, dedicated to providing the highest-quality, compassionate clinical care for patients; making our communities healthier and stronger; preparing tomorrow's professional leaders for 21st-century careers; and creating new knowledge through basic/programmatic, clinical and applied research. Thomas Jefferson University, home of Sidney Kimmel Medical College, Jefferson College of Nursing, and the Kanbar College of Design, Engineering and Commerce, dates back to 1824 and today comprises 10 colleges and three schools offering 200+ undergraduate and graduate programs to more than 8,300 students. Jefferson Health, nationally ranked as one of the top 15 not-for-profit health care systems in the country and the largest provider in the Philadelphia and Lehigh Valley areas, serves patients through millions of encounters each year at 32 hospital campuses and more than 700 outpatient and urgent care locations throughout the region. Jefferson Health Plans is a not-for-profit managed health care organization providing a broad range of health coverage options in Pennsylvania and New Jersey for more than 35 years.

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Lassa fever vaccine enters phase 1 clinical trial

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