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Blue Water Vaccines Announces Expanded License Agreement with St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital for Novel Bacterial Vaccine Platform
CINCINNATI, May 11, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Blue Water Vaccines Inc. (“BWV” or “Blue Water Vaccines” or “the Company”), a biopharmaceutical company
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[{"type":"text","content":"CINCINNATI, May 11, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Blue Water Vaccines Inc. (“BWV” or “Blue Water Vaccines” or “the Company”), a biopharmaceutical company developing transformational vaccines, today announced an expanded license agreement has been signed with St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital (“St. Jude”). Through research funded by Blue Water Vaccines, St. Jude designed genetic constructs to express bacterial proteins on the surface of Streptococcus pneumoniae. Blue Water Vaccines originally licensed patent rights from St. Jude in order to develop a live attenuated bacterial vaccine (candidate BWV-201) for acute otitis media (AOM) caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae colonization in the middle ear cavity. Researchers at St. Jude have expanded on this research and identified a potential platform for vaccine creation by presenting additional antigens on the surface of S. pneumoniae, potentially allowing for protection against multiple infectious diseases. Preliminary data for this platform shows protection against S. pneumoniae and additional expressed antigens, including non-typeable Haemophilus influenzae (NTHi), which represents another major cause of AOM. “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 investigating fundamental questions surrounding respiratory infections in children. “Through this expanded license agreement, we look forward to exploring the possibility of developing this preliminary research into a new vaccine platform and addressing public health unmet needs through efficacious vaccines,” said Joseph Hernandez, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Blue Water Vaccines. Subsequent publications and additional data surrounding this platform are forthcoming and will be provided by the Company. The American Academy of Pediatrics reports over 5 million cases of AOM in the United States each year, resulting in approximately 30 million medical care visits and over 10 million antibiotic prescriptions. AOM is the most common condition treated with antibiotics in the United States and increasing antibiotic resistance among the organisms responsible for AOM is of great public health concern. In addition to antibiotic resistance, an estimated $4.3 billion USD is spent on AOM treatment eac...