Recent success with Pfizer and Moderna vaccines to Covid-19 has proven efficacy of mRNA vaccines for viruses, but little is known about using mRNA against bacterial pathogens, which are equally abundant.
The increasing problem of antibiotic resistance and super bug emergence demands new advancements, including vaccination. Clinicaltrials.gov lists more than 240 clinical trials in progress with mRNA vaccines to viruses and cancers, but none to bacterial pathogens.
Denteric, CSL and UoM wish to collaborate under the CRC-P program to investigate if an mRNA vaccine approach is feasible for targeting bacterial pathogens using Porphyromonas gingivalis as a model human pathogen associated with chronic inflammatory diseases.
Read more about the grant on the Co-operative Research Centres Grants website.