A New Generation of Botulinum Toxin Vaccines

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Botulinum toxin is one of the six categories of pathogens that have been designated as Category A Select Agents by the Centers for Disease Control. The toxin, which is generally acknowledged to be the most potent biological poison known, enters the body and acts on peripheral cholinergic nerve endings to cause paralysis of transmission. In seriously poisoned patients, this can include paralysis of the muscles of respiration, which can lead to death. A Presidential Blue Ribbon Panel has urged that medical countermeasures against the toxin be developed, including a vaccine against the toxin. There are 8 known serotypes of toxin (A to H), but only three of these account for almost all human illnesses (A, B, and E). Therefore, the Blue Ribbon Panel has proposed that highest priority be assigned to a trivalent A/B/E vaccine. Unfortunately, since the publication of the Panel's recommendations, there is not a single trivalent vaccine that has obtained regulatory approval. In