WASHINGTON (Reuters) - An intranasal powdered anthrax vaccine that people potentially could take by themselves protects rabbits against the inhalational form of infection, researchers said on Tuesday.
Developed jointly by U.S. Army researchers and BD Technologies, the vaccine works about as well as current injected versions, the scientists said.
“Our intranasal powder vaccine discovery may provide a highly effective, more flexible, mobile and easy-to-use method of administering the anthrax vaccine in clinical and field settings,” said Vince Sullivan, a chemist with BD Technologies who led the study.
The company, a unit of syringe-maker Becton Dickinson and Company, said clinical trials could be possible within two to three years.
For their study, the researchers created a genetically engineered vaccine based on the major protective antigen of anthrax. They administered it in powder form to rabbits as an aerosol, then challenged the animals with a potentially fatal exposure to inhaled anthrax spores.
Between 83% and 100% of the rabbits survived, the researchers told a meeting of the American Chemical Society in Philadelphia.
They said their vaccine was more stable than the liquid version and could withstand wider temperature extremes, allowing it to be more easily stockpiled.
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