Vaccine to Treat Gum Disease on The Way

By: CSL Limited, AU
 |  General News, General News (Pros)

CSL Limited, Australia’s leading biopharmaceutical company, has today announced that a vaccine to treat severe gum disease is being developed in a new collaboration with Sanofi Pasteur, the world’s leading global manufacturer of vaccines.

CSL has signed an agreement with Sanofi Pasteur to fund a program in the CRC for the further development of a vaccine to prevent and treat the severe gum disease peridontitis.

Up to 30% of Australian adults suffer from the ide-spread gum disease, which causes gums to bleed and teeth to fall out. The condition has also been linked with heart disease, stroke, adverse pregnancy outcomes, dementia and cancer.

Following more than ten years of research, scientists from The University of Melbourne and CSL, in the Cooperative Research Centre for Oral Health Science have identified candidate vaccine antigens for periodontitis.

“Periodontitis is a serious disease and dentists face a major challenge in treating it, because most people will not know they have the disease until it’s too late and the infection has progressed to advanced stages” said Professor Eric Reynolds, AO, CEO of the CRC for Oral Health Science and the Head of The University of Melbourne’s Dental School.

“Traditional treatment for the disease often involves scaling and cleaning, and even surgery in an effort to contain the bacterial infection.” He said.

This new vaccine approach targets the ‘ring leader’ of a group of pathogenic bacteria that cause periodontitis, the bacterium called Porphyromonas gingivalis.

“We are very excited about this novel approach to the disease, “said Professor Reynolds. “It will provide dentists and patients with a specific treatment, which prevents disease progression, rather than managing its symptoms and damaging consequences.”

It has taken over ten years to develop the vaccine to this stage,” said Dr Andrew Cuthbertson, CSL’s Chief Scientific Officer. “CSL is pleased to advise of an agreement with Sanofi Pasteur to undertake a funded program to develop a vaccine for the treatment of periodontal disease caused by Porphyromonas gingivalis.”

The vaccine development program involves identifying the bacterial peptides and proteins that trigger the immune response, and using these as the basis of vaccines. The vaccines are being trialled in mouse models of periodontal disease and following a positive response, a vaccine will progress to clinical trials.

Should this program be successful, Sanofi Pasteur has an option to an exclusive world-wide license to commercialise the intellectual property associated with these products.

BDA attacks “unacceptable and growing chasm” in oral health inequalities

By: BDA
 |  News

An “unacceptable and growing chasm” exists in the UK between those with good and poor oral health, according to the British Dental Association’s (BDA’s) Oral Health Inequalities Policy which is published today.

The policy highlights the close association between low socio-economic status and poor oral health, calling for more focus on preventive care. It also says there should be a more integrated approach to oral health from health and social care providers. Furthermore, the paper argues greater priority should be given to particular patient groups, including those with disabilities, older people and the prison population.

The contributions of alcohol and tobacco to oral health inequalities are stressed by the paper, particularly as risk factors for oral cancer. It calls for resources to enable dental professionals to take a more preventive approach, including counselling patients on the dangers associated with alcohol and tobacco products, referring patients to smoking cessation schemes and the extension of the ability to prescribe Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) to a wider group of health professionals.

Professor Damien Walmsley, Scientific Adviser to the BDA, said:

“There has been a significant improvement in the nation’s overall oral health over the last 30 years, but despite that we still see a huge disparity that is all-too-often related to social deprivation. It is completely unacceptable that in Britain, in 2009, such a wide gap should exist.

“Much good work to address this problem has begun, and this report commends a number of schemes such as Brushing for Life and Sure Start that are starting to make a difference. However, a great deal of work remains to be done and it is vital dentists are supported in doing it.”