A new vaccine technology — developed here in Oregon — is being purchased by a California biotech firm backed by the Bill And Melinda Gates Foundation.
Former Governor John Kitzhaber envisioned folding public employee health benefits into Oregon's Coordinated Care Organizations.
OHSU / Boone Speed Photography
Over the last 15 years, a team of scientists at OHSU's Vaccine & Gene Therapy Institute have been developing the new vaccine. It works by using a virus that lives in the blood of 90 percent of the population without causing problems.
Pathogens that cause malaria, HIV, hepatitis or tuberculosis can be linked to that virus “and this creates a very different kind of immune response," Professor Klaus Frueh said. "In animal models we’ve shown that this really is superior to other vaccine approaches.”
Frueh says the new vaccine stimulates the immune system permanently, unlike traditional vaccines where immunity fades over time.
Having the technology bought by California firm Vir Biotech means researchers can move forward to secure FDA approval for clinical trials on people.