Tropical and Infectious Diseases

Current Advancements in NTD

Vaccines for neglected tropical diseases have been advanced into clinical trials, product development and vaccine maintenance has become critical activities for the success of these vaccines. A new generation of vaccines for the neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) have now been introduced into clinical development, with the Na-GST-1/Alhydrogel Hookworm Vaccine already being tested in healthy adults. Necator americanus glutathione-S-transferase-1 (Na-GST-1) is a 24-kDa recombinant protein from N. americanus expressed in Pichia pastoris and purified by three chromatographic steps. This Clinical drug was formulated at a concentration of 0.1 mg/mL Na-GST-1 with 0.8 mg/mL of Alhydrogel in a glucose/imidazole buffer (10% dextrose, 10mM imidazole, pH 7.4). The drug product (vaccine) was produced according to current GMP and stored in temperature monitored refrigerators at 2–8°C. Other vaccines include nifurtimox-eflornithine combination therapy, benznidazole and nifurtimox. liposomal amphotericin B, paromomycin, and miltefosine, Anthelminthic Vaccines, Kinetoplastid Vaccines and therapeutic Chagas disease vaccine is also being developed by the Sabin PDP in collaboration with the Carlos Slim Foundation.