Schistosomiasis Vaccine Initiative (SVI)

This boy receives Praziquantel to treat his schistosomiasis

Schistosomiasis afflicts over 200 million people around the globe and is the deadliest disease among the seven most prevalent NTDs, killing an estimated 280,000 people annually. Thanks to a private donation from Mr. Morton Hyman and the Blavatnik Charitable Foundation, the Schistosomiasis Vaccine Initiative (SVI) utilizes and leverages Sabin Vaccine Development's existing programmatic and technical infrastructure to produce and evaluate a schistosomiasis vaccine.

In collaboration with researchers at the James Cook University and The George Washington University, a promising new antigen, Sm-TSP-2 (Schistosoma mansoni Tetraspanin-2), was selected for development as a schistosomiasis vaccine. Currently at Texas Children's Hospital and Baylor College of Medicine, Sabin and its partners are developing the process for manufacture of the vaccine under (c)GMP, which will be followed by technology transfer to Sabin's manufacturing partner, Aeras. Lot release and long-term stability testing will be conducted at Instituto Butantan in Brazil, and clinical trials are slated to begin in 2011.

What is Schistosomiasis?

Schistosomiasis is a parasite carried by snails and transmitted through contact with contaminated fresh water sources such as lakes, ponds, rivers and dams. Schistosomiasis infection is readily transmissible for those who come in frequent contact with contaminated water – particularly children who wade or play in water and women conducting domestic chores.

Once inside the body, schistosomiasis larvae develop into adult worms which can live inside the blood vessels for years causing severe blood loss, anemia and malnutrition. Long-term schistosomiasis infections can also cause severe kidney, spleen and liver damage and bladder cancer. Re-infection with contaminated water sources is a major concern in endemic areas of Africa, where chronic schistosomiasis infections are the primary culprit for anemia, impaired growth and poor school performance in children. Pregnant and lactating women infected with schistosomiasis are generally not considered candidates for treatment with the current drug therapies available to help control infection and as a result often develop severe anemia and are at an increased risk of maternal death. In addition, these women are at an increased risk of developing the more severe symptoms of the disease including kidney damage and bladder cancer.