Clinical Trial of Bilhvax,a Vaccine Candidate Against Schistosomiasis

Phase 1

Completed

• Conditions: Schistosomiasis; Bilharziasis; Urinary Schistosomiasis
• Interventions: Biological: rSh28GST

• Registration Number: NCT01512277
• Lead Sponsor: University Hospital, Lille

Brief Summary

The purpose of this clinical study is to evaluate safety and immunogenicity in adult healthy volunteers of the vaccine candidate against schistosomiasis named Bilhvax.

Detailed Description

The development of an efficient vaccine against human schistosomiasis represents a major challenge for the improvement of health in many developing countries.

Schistosomiasis affects millions people in numerous countries and hampers economical development of tropical areas.

Although progress has been made for the limitation of the disease severity by chemotherapy, continuous re-infection and risks of drug resistance point to the necessary development of alternative strategies.

It is widely agreed that immunological prevention of chronic parasitic infections will be extremely difficult to achieve. Conversely in some major helminth infections like schistosomiasis, where parasite eggs laying in the tissues is the exclusive cause of pathology and the elimination of eggs in nature is the source of transmission, inhibition of parasite fecundity might represent for the future a novel way to prevent the deleterious effects of these chronic infections in man.

The concept to target by vaccination the cause of the pathology rather than the parasite itself would provide a potent tool to control a major chronic infection.

After years of basic studies on effector and regulatory mechanisms of immune response against schistosomiasis it has been identify a schistosome molecule named glutathione S-transferase 28 kDa (28GST) presenting a potential as vaccine candidate.

This 28GST have been cloned and named Bilhvax. It has been shown that immunization with such schistosome GST would dramatically decrease female worm fecundity and egg viability in various hosts. It was demonstrated that these anti-fecundity effects are associated with the production of antibodies neutralizing the GST enzymatic activities obtained through a Th2-type immune response. This correlation between anti-fecundity effects and inhibition-mediated antibodies demonstrated in several animal models was re-enforced by epidemiological studies showing that such acquired antibodies produced during infection could be detected in adult individuals naturally resistant to the re-infection.

The present phase 1 clinical trial is conducted in healthy Caucasian volunteers to evaluate as primary endpoint the safety of the recombinant Sh28GST (rSh28GST) in Alum (named Bilhvax), a vaccine candidate against human urinary schistosomiasis. The secondary endpoint is to evaluate immunogenicity of Bilhvax, to determine the profile of the immune response, and to estimate the neutralizing capacity of the antibodies against the rSh28GST enzymatic activity.

The recombinant S. haematobium 28GST expressed in yeast is produced by Eurogentec SA in GMP conditions.

Study Timeline

• Study Start: 1998-09
• Primary Completion: 1999-03
• Study Completion: 1999-09
• Study First Submitted: 2012-01-09
• Study First Submitted QC: 2012-01-13
• Study First Posted: 2012-01-19
• Status Verified: 2013-08
• Last Update Submitted: 2013-08-26
• Last Update Posted: 2013-08-27

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: COMPLETED
• Sex: Male
• Target Recruitment: 24

Inclusion Criteria

• Caucasian volunteers
• No smoker
• biological parameters (haematological, biochemical, renal and hepatic) in normal range
• Health Insurance
• sign inform consent

Exclusion Criteria

• inflammatory or immunological pathology such as atopic diseases, evidence of inflammation or acute infection (including positive serology to viral hepatitis B and C or HIV)
• any immunological deficiency
• any clinically relevant alcohol or drug use (cannabis, opiates, cocaine, amphetamines, benzodiazepines, nicotine, barbiturates, meprobamate or antidepressant drugs according to urine drug and metabolites screen)
• current immunosuppressor treatment
• any other medication use within 2 weeks before the study
• any vaccination within the last 6 months
• no antibodies against Sh28GST protein.

Study & Design

• Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Design: PARALLEL

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
3 administrations of 100 µg of rSh28GST	rSh28GST	Adult volunteers (n=8) receive 100μg of rSh28GST together with aluminium hydroxide (Alum) as adjuvant at D0, D28, and D150.
2 administrations of 300 µg of rSh28GST	rSh28GST	Adult volunteers (n=8) receive 300μg of rSh28GST together with aluminium hydroxide (Alum) as adjuvant at D0 and D28.
Placebo	rSh28GST	Adult volunteers (n=8) receive aluminium hydroxide (Alum) alone at D0 and D28.

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Number of Participants with Adverse Events as a Measure of Safety and Tolerability	D180 : clinical observation, clinical analysis	Local signs and symptoms included pain or tenderness, swelling, induration and erythema at the site of injection. Complete physical examination including an examination of general appearance, body weight and rectal temperature, head, eyes, ears, nose and throat, neck, skin, cardiovascular and respiratory system, abdominal system, nervous system, lymphatic area, blood pressure, pulse and respiratory rates. General signs and symptoms including fever, headache, nausea, vomiting, myalgia, arthralgia, irritability/fussiness and drowsiness, loss of appetite and sleep disturbances

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Immunogenicity	Day of first administration and D21, D28, D29, D49, D120, D150, D165 and D180	Immunogenicity was evaluated by dosage of specific antibody production, capacity of sera to inhibit enzymatic activity of the antigen, and immune profile estimation by in vitro cytokines production assay.

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

Centre d'Investigation Clinique - CHRU de Lille; 🇫🇷 Lille, France