Michele Tameris: «It is fantastic that a small group from Zaragoza has designed the Spanish vaccine against tuberculosis»
October 8, 2019
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October 8, 2019
The principal investigator of the study on the results of the MTBVAC vaccine in newborn babies in South Africa has visited the modest laboratory at the University of Zaragoza where Carlos Martín's team created the antidote. And she assures that her creation is a promising candidate to help eradicate the disease.
Since 2003, South African researcher Michel Tameris has been searching for a vaccine that will help eradicate tuberculosis. During this time she has seen how the expectations of antidotes promoted by prestigious universities such as Oxford have been frustrated. In that race, the Spanish candidate, MTBVAC, is in a prominent position, which was designed two decades ago at the University of Zaragoza by the group led by Carlos Martín. Its safety and immunogenicity have been demonstrated. Its effectiveness remains to be known, but for now it shows the properties of vaccines that work, such as those for malaria or polio, according to Tameris.
This Tuesday she visited the Aragonese capital and visited the modest laboratory in which the vaccine known as MTBVAC was born, a "fantastic" process, in the words of the researcher.
-Why is a new vaccine against tuberculosis so necessary?
-Because there is only BCG, which was born a century ago and is the one used throughout the world but, despite this, every year there are 10 million new cases of tuberculosis and it causes 1,6 million deaths. Therefore, it protects against severe forms in children but not against respiratory forms. We need a vaccine that protects against all respiratory forms.
-How did your involvement in the search for a vaccine against this disease begin?
-I have been working since 2003 for SATVI, at the University of Cape Town, in the search for a vaccine against tuberculosis in South Africa. In this time we have carried out 25 clinical trials with 9 different vaccines, including the Spanish MTBVAC. I have been involved in all the rehearsals in Worcester, near Cape Town.
-And have all these vaccines been discarded or are there others that compete with the one designed at the University of Zaragoza?
-Some are no longer being worked on, and others are very active. Trials are currently being carried out with 4, including MTBVAC.
