Vaccine Info

BWV-201 Vaccine

Authored by
Staff
Last reviewed
December 2, 2022
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BWV-201 Vaccine Description

Blue Water Vaccines (BWV) BWV-201 is a nasal vaccine candidate designed to provide protection against forms of non-invasive pneumococcal disease, including Acute Otitis Media (AOM) and Pneumonia Without Bacteremia. By administering the modified live bacteria intranasally, BWV-201 is designed to elicit a strong mucosal immune response, regardless of the capsular polysaccharide serotype.

Based on experiments at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, data suggests that BWV-201 may also protect against pneumococcal pneumonia by limiting the ability of Streptococcus pneumoniae to infect the lungs. BWV’s new development plan aims to assess the efficacy of BWV-201 in protecting individuals against non-invasive pneumococcal pneumonia.

Joseph Hernandez, Chairman and CEO of Blue Water Vaccines stated in a press release on December 1, 2022, “Although our primary targets of this vaccine remain AOM and pneumococcal pneumonia, data from the original publication for this vaccine suggests that BWV-201 may also protect against invasive pneumococcal disease. We look forward to sharing our strategy with all colleagues in attendance and further advancing this program into clinical trials.”

Blue Water Vaccines is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing transformational vaccines to address significant health challenges globally. BWV has licensed a novel norovirus S&P nanoparticle versatile virus-like particle vaccine platform to develop vaccines for multiple infectious diseases, including norovirus/rotavirus and malaria, among others. BWV is located at 201 E. Fifth Street, Cincinnati, OH, 45202.

BWV-201 Indication

While Streptococcus pneumoniae is commonly found in the nose and throat of healthy individuals, overgrowth and spread of the bacteria can result in pneumococcal disease. Non-invasive forms of pneumococcal disease include AOM, sinusitis, and pneumococcal pneumonia, while invasive forms include bacteremia, sepsis, and pneumococcal meningitis.

Pneumococci are common inhabitants of the respiratory tract. The bacteria may be isolated from the nasopharynx of 5–90% of healthy persons, says the U.S. CDC.

The American Academy of Pediatrics reports over 5 million cases of AOM in the U.S. annually, resulting in approximately 30 million medical care visits and over 10 million antibiotic prescriptions. In addition to antibiotic resistance, an estimated $4.3 billion USD is spent on AOM treatment each year in the U.S., indicating a severe unmet need for vaccine intervention.

BWV-201 News

December 1, 2022 - Blue Water Vaccines to Present Update on Novel, Live Attenuated, Intranasally Delivered Streptococcus pneumoniae Vaccine to Prevent Acute Otitis Media, Pneumococcal Pneumonia, and Invasive Pneumococcal Disease at the World Vaccine & Immunotherapy Congress.

October 11, 2022 - Blue Water Vaccines Inc. announced plans to investigate the ability of BWV-201, a Streptococcus pneumoniae vaccine candidate for AOM prevention, to protect against non-invasive pneumococcal pneumonia.

May 11, 2022 - Blue Water Vaccines Inc. announced an expanded license agreement had been signed with St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Through research funded by Blue Water Vaccines, St. Jude designed genetic constructs to express bacterial proteins on the surface of Streptococcus pneumonia. BWV originally licensed patent rights from St. Jude to develop a live attenuated bacterial vaccine candidate, BWV-201. “This preliminary data is promising for research and development of a novel bacterial vaccine platform,” said Jason Rosch, Ph.D. and principal investigator who leads a lab at St. Jude.

Clinical Trials

No clinical trials found