UM researchers to test new anthrax vaccine

The University of Maryland School of Medicine is preparing to test a new, genetically engineered anthrax vaccine that could decrease the number of doses needed to develop immunity.

The vaccine -- recombinant protective antigen anthrax vaccine -- requires just two doses, UMM officials say. By contrast, the current anthrax vaccine requires six doses over 18 months and an annual booster shot.

The new vaccine, like the current one, uses a protein called protective antigen made by the anthrax bacterium to produce an immune response. The protective antigen gene is placed into a highly weakened form of the anthrax bacterium, and the gene uses the bacterium as a "biological factory" that produces only the protective antigen.

"If this new anthrax vaccine is found to be safe and effective, it would be a more practical option for mass vaccination in the event of a bioterrorist attack," says James Campbell, assistant professor of pediatrics and the primary investigator for the drug's Phase 1 trial.

Anthrax is a bacterial infection caused by the spore producing the bacterium called Bacillus anthracis. Though it primarily affects livestock, humans can contract the disease. Inhalation anthrax, which infected many of the victims of the 2001 anthrax attacks, is highly lethal.