TB vaccine candidate trial results are 'landmark' in fight against disease

"Today marks an important landmark for the fight against tuberculosis (TB)," with the publication in the Lancet of clinical trial results showing the TB vaccine candidate MVA85A "was no more effective in protecting infants from developing pulmonary TB than" the standard Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) vaccine, Peggy Johnston, senior program officer at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, writes in the foundation's "Impatient Optimists" blog. "While it is unfortunate that MVA85A failed to provide added protection against TB, the results provide us with a clear path forward to focus on other promising candidates," she says, noting there are more than three dozen novel vaccines in early stages of clinical and pre-clinical testing. She adds, "The need for improved preventive tools and improved drugs has never been more compelling" (2/4).