Tuberculosis

Tuberculosis (TB), an ancient affliction caused by the pathogen Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB), continues to pose a significant threat to global health. Our company is at the forefront of this battle, providing comprehensive vaccine and therapy development services.

Introduction to Tuberculosis

Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease primarily caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB). It predominantly affects the lungs but can also impact other parts of the body. TB is transmitted through airborne particles when an infected individual coughs or sneezes, making it a highly communicable disease. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), TB remains one of the deadliest infectious diseases worldwide, claiming over 1.2 million lives in 2018 alone, in addition to the significant mortality associated with TB-HIV co-infections.

Fig.1 Typical tuberculous granuloma. (Cadena A. M., et al., 2017)

Vaccine Development for Tuberculosis

Vaccination stands as a paramount line of defense against TB. The development of a novel TB vaccine involves a multifaceted approach, aiming to enhance the immune response against MTB, prevent disease progression, and reduce transmission. The Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine, despite its widespread use, exhibits variable efficacy, particularly in preventing adult pulmonary TB. This variability has spurred the pursuit of new and improved vaccines.

The quest for a more effective TB vaccine has led to the exploration of various platforms, including:

Table 1 Summary of tuberculosis (TB) vaccine candidates. (Li J., et al., 2020)

Therapeutics Development for Tuberculosis

Parallel to vaccine development, the advancement of TB drug and therapy options is imperative. The emergence of multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) and extensively drug-resistant TB (XDR-TB) has complicated therapeutic regimens, necessitating the development of new drugs with novel mechanisms of action.

• First-Line Drugs: Isoniazid, rifampicin, ethambutol, and pyrazinamide remain the cornerstone of TB therapeutics.
• Second-Line Drugs: For MDR-TB, fluoroquinolones, injectable aminoglycosides, and newer drugs like bedaquiline and delamanid are utilized.
• Combination Therapies: The use of multiple drugs in combination is essential to tackle drug-resistant strains and improve outcomes.

The development of new TB drugs faces challenges such as lengthy and complex processes, the need for drugs with fewer side effects, and the emergence of resistance even to second-line drugs.

Our Services

As your trusted partner, our company is at the forefront of tuberculosis (TB) vaccine and therapy development, offering a comprehensive suite of services designed to accelerate the discovery and delivery of novel solutions to combat tuberculosis (TB).

Vaccine Development

• Live-attenuated Vaccine
• Inactivated Vaccine
• Toxoid Vaccine
• Viral Vector Vaccine
• Virus-like Particles Vaccine
• Protein Subunit Vaccine
• mRNA Vaccine
• DNA Vaccine

Therapeutic Development

• Small Molecule Drug
• Therapeutic mRNA
• Therapeutic Antibody
• Cell Therapy

Preclinical Research

• Drug Safety Evaluation
• In Vivo Pharmacokinetics Study
• In Vitro Pharmacokinetics Study
• Activity Testing
• Drug Resistance Evaluation

Disease Models

• C3HeB/FeJ Mouse Models: necrotic granulomas similar to those in humans
• Rabbit Models: for studying TB transmission, bone TB, and rarer forms of TB such as meningeal and cutaneous TB
• Non-Human Primate (NHP) Models

Our preclinical research services are designed to facilitate the thorough evaluation of tuberculosis (TB) vaccine and therapy candidates. We employ a variety of in vitro and in vivo models to assess the immunogenicity and therapeutic potential of new candidates. If you are interested in our services, please feel free to contact us.

All of our services and products are intended for preclinical research use only and cannot be used to diagnose, treat or manage patients.