Those who have had experiences with Lyme disease must be ecstatic. Because according to a report by WBUR (Boston’s NPR news station), a springtime shot to prevent Lyme disease could become available in 2023.
The shot has been developed by MassBiologics, the nonprofit unit of the University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worchester.
Take note however, it’s not a vaccine, it is what the researchers call “pre-exposure prophylaxis,” known as PrEP:
“It delivers anti-Lyme antibodies directly to the patient rather than triggering the patient’s own immune system to make the antibodies as vaccines do.”
Dr. Mark Klempner of MassBiologics and his colleagues pinpointed antibodies as being the key to immunity against Lyme disease after a vaccine failed. Klempner said:
“A Lyme vaccine that used to be publicly available had been withdrawn and since we understood the mechanism of protection there, we were able to go right after the molecule that we thought would be protective.”
Federal approval was granted at the end of last year to begin human testing, and that phase one, clinical trial began last week with 66 subjects, said Klempner.
The initial testing is not being done in Massachusetts, however. It is being done in a location where very few Lyme disease infections occur — Lincoln, Nebraska. This will help them be more sure that any antibodies against the Lyme bacteria detected in the subjects’ blood came from the shot, not from a previous infection.
Klempner says this testing will likely last through 2021, to make sure the antibodies can last through an entire tick season. After that, testing for how effective the shot is will hopefully begin in 2022. This will put the shot on target for wide public availability in 2023.
For decades, Lyme disease has been on the rise, especially in the Northeast and Midwest, and it is one of the hardest diseases to diagnose. The Center for Disease and Prevention estimates it infects nearly a half million Americans each year.
Read more:
- Be aware of ticks: Some symptoms of Lyme disease similar to COVID-19, Pa. Dept. of Health warns
- Lyme disease threat gets clearer but treatment remains murky: ‘Ticks are nature’s dirty needle’
- Pop star Justin Bieber says he’s battling Lyme disease: ‘It’s been a rough couple years’
- Camp Hill’s Will Ketterer says Lyme disease diagnosis has given him new lease on life, chance at college hoops