
CARB-X announced yesterday that it is awarding Danish research and development company GlyProVac $467,000 to develop a maternal vaccine that targets a leading cause of neonatal sepsis.
The award from CARB-X (Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria Biopharmaceutical Accelerator) will support the development GPV02, a novel vaccine that uses a selected bacterial protein naturally decorated with small sugar molecules to trigger an immune response against Escherichia coli. Vaccinated mothers would pass the antibodies on to their babies in utero and through breastmilk to help their newborns' ward off an E coli infection. The vaccine also has the potential to prevent urinary tract infections caused by E coli.
An estimated 2.5 million newborns or infants in the first month of life, primarily in low-and middle-income countries, die each year from sepsis, which occurs when a bloodstream infection triggers a life-threatening immune response. E coli is one of the primary causes.
4th vaccine to receive CARB-X funds
"E. coli can cause a range of infections in humans, including urinary tract infections and neonatal sepsis in newborns, and poses a major challenge for public healthcare systems," Anders Boysen, PhD, CEO and Co-founder of GlyProVac, said in a CARB-X press release. "We are grateful for the invaluable support, network, and resources provided by CARB-X, which will give us the opportunity to expand the potential of our E. coli vaccine to accelerate the fight against neonatal sepsis."
E. coli can cause a range of infections in humans.
GPV02 is the seventh project, and fourth vaccine, to receive funding from CARB-X's 2022-2023 funding call. Earlier this year, CARB-X awarded Syntiron, of St. Paul, Minnesota, $1.7 million to develop its Alloy-EK vaccine, which targets E coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae, for neonatal sepsis.