TB vaccine research: New network connects African and European institutions
African and European research institutions are joining forces to strengthen research and development of tuberculosis (TB) vaccines. A new network brings together thirteen institutions from both continents to improve collaboration, to set up joint activities and to exchange knowledge. The network, called TBTEA, has received a budget of 765,000 euros.
“TBTEA is an excellent networking opportunity,” says Dr Andre Loxton of Stellenbosch University in South Africa, one of the participants of the project. “This network will bring scientists closer in their attempts to solve the daunting task of the TB epidemic.” Dr Benjamin Kagina of the South African Tuberculosis Vaccine Initiative (SATVI) adds that “at international level, the TBTEA network provides an enormous opportunity for collaboration, particularly in clinical trials.”
TBTEA, or ‘Collaboration and integration of tuberculosis vaccine trials in Europe and Africa’ in full, focuses largely on improving and developing clinical trial sites where vaccine candidates are being tested. This is important as TB vaccine development took a great leap over the past ten years and promising vaccine candidates are now being evaluated. Capacity building of trial sites is crucial in this phase. The TBTEA project is financed by the European and Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership (EDCTP) and coordinated by the Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology in Germany and TuBerculosis Vaccine Initiative (TBVI) from the Netherlands.
Dr Jelle Thole, director of TBVI, is proud of the new network. “In order to be able to deliver effective tuberculosis vaccines, it is crucial to establish well-developed clinical trial sites. TBTEA will ensure an exchange of knowledge between North and South and aims to enable evaluation of the various different types of TB vaccines that are now entering the clinical pipeline.
The TBTEA platform offers many benefits to all partners involved. It will contribute to improving sustainable research infrastructures in African countries where TB is a public health threat and it will prevent overlap and unnecessary duplication of work. European partners can learn how to make more efficient use of existing trial sites whereas African partners will benefit from the translation of European knowledge. African postdoctoral researchers will perform experiments in collaboration with European organizations, and workshops and field site visits will be organised. Dr Loxton sees advantages to his university but also feels his institute has something to offer: “This provides an additional resource for our already established collaboration with northern partners to expand and receive additional training. We have a specialised immunology laboratory and are in the process of being accredited. That means we can provide another high-level immunology laboratory for northern partners to perform trials.”
Dr Yukari Wanabe is delighted her organisation, the Infectious Disease Institute in Uganda, is able to play a role in vaccine clinical trials. Speeding up tuberculosis vaccine development is important, she explains: “Treatment is currently long and inadequate to deal with the problem of TB. Prevention is clearly the best way forward for high burden developing countries in sub-Saharan Africa.”
TBTEA has a budget of 765,000 euros and is scheduled to run from September 2011 – July 2013 and involves the following institutions:
Max Planck Society for the Advancement of Science, Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology, Germany - TuBerculosis Vaccine Initiative (TBVI), The Netherlands - University of Oxford, UK - Statens Serum Institute, Denmark - University of Zaragoza, Spain - INSERM, Institut Pasteur de Lille, France - South African Tuberculosis Vaccine Initiative (SATVI), University of Cape Town, South Africa - Stellenbosch University, South Africa - The Infectious Diseases Institute (IDI) at Makerere University, Uganda - Vakzine Projekt Management (VPM), Germany - Armauer Hansen Research Institute (AHRI), Ethiopia - Espoir Pour La Santé (EPLS), Senegal - Hospitalier CHU Le Dantec, Senegal