As well as the causal link to multiple sclerosis, EBV is associated with diseases and cancers including Hodgkin's lymphoma and nasopharyngeal cancer. The virus can be life-threatening in immunocompromised patients such as transplant recipients.
Lead author Dr Vijayendra Dasari from QIMR Berghofer said it was rewarding to see so many years of research getting to this stage of development.
"QIMR Berghofer has been researching the role of EBV in disease and cancer for decades. It is a really proud moment for us to see all of this work coming together, with this vaccine now heading towards the next important stages of development," Dr Dasari said.
The research was funded by biopharmaceutical company Atara Biotherapeutics, which is supporting the development, in collaboration with QIMR Berghofer, of a novel EBV-vaccine composition involving a different, clinically validated adjuvant.
QIMR Berghofer's Tumour Immunology Group, led by Professor Khanna, is making significant progress in vaccine design technology that can generate T-cell immunity against disease-causing viruses. This platform was used to develop the new EBV vaccine candidate, and has previously led to a potential preventative vaccine for human cytomegalovirus (CMV). The team is also working on a therapeutic vaccine to treat patients with human papillomavirus (HPV)-related cancers.
The research paper is available at this link https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-023-39770-1 with DOI number 10.1038/s41467-023-39770-1
