Accelerating vaccine development of TeeVax

Rheumatic fever (RF) is a debilitating disease that disproportionately affects Māori and Pacific children in New Zealand. Annual RF rates range from 23 to 99 per 100,000 among Māori and Pacific children 5 to 14 years of age, representing some of the highest rates reported globally. RF can lead to irreversible heart damage and premature death. Therefore, current treatment options rely on long-term antibiotic therapy to prevent Strep A bacterial skin and throat infections associated with recurrent RF episodes. We have seen in NZ that primary prevention strategies involving antibiotic treatment are both resource intensive and have failed to maintain reduced RF rates in most regions. A vaccine therefore presents as a highly desirable option that could have major implications on reducing the disease burden among children. We have developed a vaccine called TeeVax that is at an advanced stage of pre-clinical development. TeeVax targets the ‘T-antigen’ found on the surface of Strep A, has broad strain coverage, and has shown protection against highly invasive Strep A infection in animals. This proposal aims to understand how our vaccine mediates protection against infection and to improve the formulation of TeeVax. The ultimate goal is to craft a vaccine that is superior in strain coverage, safety, and efficacy for clinical trials.