Vaccines and therapeutics

Used alone or in combination with novel therapeutic approaches, vaccination is one of the public health measures that has had the greatest impact on the reduction of the burden from infectious diseases.

A new generation of pneumococcal vaccine

Funded by Meningitis Now (2013-2019), the aim of the project is to design a novel broad coverage universal vaccine for pneumococcal invasive diseases. The project has assessed the efficacy and safety of investigational vaccine formulations using in vitro and in vivo translational models. Novel adjuvanted formulations were combined with newly discovered pneumococcal antigens and evaluated for their broad and cross-stereotype protective efficacy. The vaccine technology was patented by the university and its introduction into the market will be accelerated via the creation of a spin-out company.

A cross-serotype vaccine targeted at AMR Streptococcus agalactiae

The widespread use of antibiotics has led to the emergence and spread of resistant bacterial infections, in such a way that antimicrobial resistance (AMR) has now become a global issue. While new antibiotic development is declining, vaccine technology is growing at a significantly faster pace. In the era of high throughput technology, reverse vaccinology platform harness bacterial genome sequences to identify potential target and guide for vaccine development. Using this approach, we aim to identify common features amongst penicillin- and macrolide-resistant S. agalactiae that can serve as potential targets for vaccine development, and assess their immunogenicity using in vitro and/or in vivo models.

Novel therapies against severe bacterial infections

The widespread use of antibiotics has led to high and rising levels of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). The urgent need for alternative therapeutic approaches is clear. We have been working on several novel therapies against severe bacterial infections such as pneumonia and sepsis that focus on stimulating the immune system or directly targeting major bacterial virulence factors. These include our projects on P4 peptide immunotherapy (funded by MRC DPFS), bacteriophage therapy and liposome toxin sequestration therapy (published in Nature Biotechnology. 2014doi: 10.1038/nbt.3037). We also have several ongoing industrial partnerships developing other novel therapies and vaccines against bacterial diseases. Our overall aim is to develop and test new therapies against severe life threatening bacterial diseases using our clinically relevant and reproducible disease models.

Use of a bacterial-spore nasal spray as a novel prophylactic approach

We are carrying out mucosal immunisation studies in hACE2-transgenic mice to determine the protective efficacy of heat-killed bacterial spores against pandemic viral infections such as influenza virus and SARS-CoV-2. The novel approach is aimed at stimulating cross-protective anti-viral immunity. The project is a collaboration with UK biotech companies Destiny Pharma plc and SporeGen Ltd, who have joined forces to develop SporeGen’s SPOR-COV product. Subsequent pre-clinical safety studies and manufacturing are hoped to lead to first-in-human clinical trials.