IMVAMUNE®: Modified vaccinia Ankara strain as an attenuated smallpox vaccine

Jeffrey S. Kennedy, Richard N. Greenberg

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

115 Scopus citations

Abstract

Smallpox vaccines based on replicating vaccinia virus are known to elicit rare yet serious adverse events, particularly in human populations with immune deficiency, atopic dermatitis and at the extremes of age. A vaccine that induces protective immune responses equivalent to first-generation smallpox vaccines while reducing the risk for severe adverse events is critical for a national stockpile of smallpox vaccines. Modified vaccinia Ankara (MVA) has been proposed as an immediate solution for vaccination of high-risk individuals. Bavarian Nordic's vaccine MVA?BN® (IMVAMUNE®) is a MVA strain that is replication incompetent in mammalian cell lines. IMVAMUNE has been administered to more than 1900 human subjects to date, including high-risk populations (e.g., people diagnosed with atopic dermatitis or infected with HIV) in which standard replicating vaccines are contraindicated. We review the Phase I clinical trial safety profile and immune responses and compare them with other smallpox vaccines, including ACAM2000™ and Dryvax®.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)13-24
Number of pages12
JournalExpert Review of Vaccines
Volume8
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 2009

Keywords

  • Adverse event
  • Clinical trial
  • Immunity
  • Modified vaccinia Ankara
  • Smallpox
  • Vaccine
  • Vaccinia

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Immunology
  • Molecular Medicine
  • Pharmacology
  • Drug Discovery

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