A Phase 3 trial of a tuberculosis vaccine candidate has been launched in South Africa, according to the Bill & Melinda Gates Medical Research Institute (Gates MRI).
The candidate vaccine – referred to as M72/AS01E – “could potentially become the first vaccine to help prevent pulmonary TB in adolescents and adults, the most common form of the disease, and the first new TB vaccine in over a century”, according to Gates MR, which is sponsoring the trial along with support from Wellcome Trust.