Show-Me State Times

Researchers at Saint Louis University's Center for Vaccine Development are set to enroll up to 70 adult volunteers in a clinical trial aimed at evaluating a new investigational vaccine for yellow fever. The study, funded by Sanofi Pasteur, will assess the safety of the vaccine, which is designed without using eggs or animal products.

The existing licensed yellow fever vaccine has been administered in approximately 600 million doses worldwide, providing lifelong immunity, according to George. However, the new vaccine aims to be more efficient and quicker to produce.

Yellow fever remains endemic in Africa and South America, infecting about 200,000 people annually. While most recover from symptoms such as fever and headache, around 15 percent become severely ill with jaundice and bleeding. Of those severely affected, up to 50 percent face a risk of death.

"Yellow fever can be a severe disease and can kill you," George stated. "It has caused several outbreaks in the tropics in past years, and we need a vaccine which is easier and faster to make than the current vaccine."

The trial will involve healthy adult volunteers aged between 18 and 60. Participants will receive either the investigational or licensed yellow fever vaccine over six months at multiple U.S. sites. Compensation will be provided for participation.

Interested individuals can contact Saint Louis University’s Center for Vaccine Development via email at vaccine@slu.edu or by phone at 314-977-6333. Further details are available on ClinicalTrials.gov.

Saint Louis University has been involved in pandemic response efforts for over three decades and first received federal funding for vaccine research in 1989. Under the leadership of Daniel Hoft, M.D., Ph.D., its Center for Vaccine Development is one of ten institutions selected by the National Institutes of Health as a Vaccine and Treatment Evaluation Unit (VTEU).

Established in 1836, Saint Louis University School of Medicine was the first institution west of the Mississippi River to award a medical degree. The school conducts research across five key areas: infectious disease, liver disease, cancer, heart/lung disease, and aging/brain disorders.