New product/treatment opportunities

Effective vaccine against Lyme disease

Lyme disease was first clinically recognized as late as 1975. It is a multisystem inflammatory disorder with dermatologic, neurologic, rheumatic and cardiac manifestations. It is caused by three species of the bacterium Borrelia: Borrelia burgdorferi, B. garinii and B. afzelii. B. burgdorferi is the causative agent in the USA; in Europe, all three types can cause the disease. In 1990, SmithKline Beecham Biologicals started the development of a vaccine against Lyme disease. A lipoprotein on the surface of B. burgdorferi (OspA) can elicit a protective immune response against the bacterium, but it was very difficult to culture thibacterium to obtain OspA. Therefore, the company expressed the gene coding for OspA in recombinant Escherichia coli, which produces large quantities of this antigen (photo). The antigen was formulated into a vaccine which protects against B. burgdorferi. Since 1998, it is on the market in the USA. A trivalent vaccine for use in Europe is now under development.