Twelve new tuberculosis vaccines in clinical testing phase

Leaders in the global fight against tuberculosis reported historic progress at a Senate briefing on TB. Jennifer Woolley of the Aeras Global TB Vaccination Foundation, said: “A decade ago, we didn’t have any preventive vaccines in clinical trials. Now a total of 15 have entered the clinic and a dozen are currently being tested.” Variable success rates within age groups and populations are one of the greatest issues within the development of TB vaccines. The current vaccine, Bacillus Calmette-Guérin, or BCG, was first developed in 1921 and has shown variable efficacy based on both geography and age group. Woolley explained that BCG is really only effective in infants who have not already been exposed to TB, adding that “we need a vaccine that is going to protect against TB in multiple age groups and populations.” Clinical trials for the 12 new vaccines are currently in phase IIb, the proof-of-concept stage, and the first reports...