National Smallpox Vaccine Trial Begins Next Month

Researchers are scheduled to begin testing a new smallpox vaccine next month at seven U.S. universities, the Houston Business Journal reported yesterday (see GSN, May 1).

The study, sponsored by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, is intended to test the efficacy of the new Imvamune vaccine, produced by Bavarian Nordic of Denmark, against the existing Dryvax treatment produced by Wyeth Laboratories of Pennsylvania (see GSN, June 5).

Dryvax is now given to U.S. soldiers deployed in the Persian Gulf.  The vaccine in some cases has been found to cause nasty rashes and brain and heart inflammation, said the Journal.

“Although the probability of release of smallpox through a terrorist attack is low, the effect could be devastating, since much of the population has not been protected through vaccination,” said Chip Walter of Duke University, one of the schools participating in the study.

Nationwide, 215 subjects are scheduled to take a placebo or one of the medicines to see how long each vaccine takes to develop immunity.

“If there’s an outbreak, the question is how quickly can we get everybody immunized.  That part is crucial,” said Lawrence Stanberry of the University of Texas Medical Branch (Greg Barr/Houston Business Journal, July 2).

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