Health Protection Agency

Imperial College Innovations Limited

Public Health Laboratory Service Board

Secretary of State for Health and Social Care

The Secretary of State in Her Britannic Majesty's Government of the

Andrew Robinson

Andrew Richard Gorringe

Michael John Hudson

Karen Margaret Reddin

Steven Anthony Rochford Webb

Keith Cartwright

Cliona Anne O'Dwyer

Philippa Bracegirdle

John Simon Kroll

Paul Richard Langford

Keith Foster

Laurence I Irons

Derek C Ellwood

Richard J Manchee

A composition is provided comprisingouter membrane vesicles, wherein said outer membrane vesicles are enriched with at least one antigenic component. The composition is suitable for use in vaccines and for treatment of infection, particularly meningococcal infection, demonstrating a broad spectrum of protection. A number of preferred antigenic components are described and include antigenic proteins and proteoglycans derived from

Multicomponent meningococcal vaccine

A composition is prepared from a mixture of different vesicles, such as outer membrane vesicles (OMVs) and vaccines are based thereon. Another composition comprises in a single vesicle a combination of antigens and/or other vesicle components deriving from separate vesicles; again vaccines are prepared therefrom.

Outer membrane vesicles from gram negative bacteria and use as a vaccine

Methods and compositions for the treatment of microbial infection, and in particular meningococcal disease, comprise a commensalor an extract of a commensal. Further methods and compositions comprise commensalwhich express genes from virulent strains ofand/or heterologous gene products from non-neisserial sources. Such compositions are used in vaccine preparations for the treatment of microbial infection.

Neisserial vaccine compositions and methods

Methods and compositions for the treatment of microbial infection, and in particular meningococcal disease, comprise a commensalor an extract of a commensal. Further methods and compositions comprise conimensalwhich express genes from virulent strains ofand/or heterologous gene products from non-Neisserial sources. Such compositions are used in vaccine preparations for the treatment of microbial infection.

A composition comprising Transferrin binding proteins A and B is described (TbpA and TbpB). The composition is suitable for use in vaccines and for treatment of Gram negative bacterial infection, particularly meningococcal infection, demonstrating a broad spectrum of protection to a number of different bacterial pathogens. Also described are compositions comprising Tbps and other components, such as neisserial outer membrane vesicles and Cu,Zn-Superoxide dismutase. Methods for preparation of these compositions and their uses in vaccination against disease are further provided.

A process is provided for the production of lymphocytosis promoting factor (LPF), filamentous haemagglutinin (FHA) and at least one fimbrial agglutinogen from a liquid culture of Bordetella pertussis, which comprises the steps of (a) separating the culture into cellular and supernatant fractions, (b) concentrating the supernatant fraction, (c) fractionating the concentrated supernatant fraction to isolate LPF and FHA containing fractions, and (d) isolating at least one fimbrial agglutinogen from the cellular fraction. A vaccine composition may be produced by mixing so-produced LPF, FHA and fimbrial agglutinogens produced.

Purification of pertussis antigens

An antigenically-active cell envelope fraction from bacterial cells, especially Bordetella pertussis, may be isolated by disrupting the cells, separating the cell envelopes from the other cell components, extracting the separated envelopes with a solution of a zwitterionic surfactant and precipitating the cell envelope preparation from the resulting extract by the addition of a lower alkyl (C.sub.1 to C.sub.5) alcohol, preferably ethanol. The preferred extractant is an N, N, N-trialkyl zwitterionic compound especially an N, N, N-trialkyl-.alpha.-amino acid or an N, N, N-trialkyl amine oxide. The cell envelope fraction obtained from B. pertussis is highly protective against whole bacteria when tested by standard vaccine mouse potency assay and has a greatly reduced lipopolysaccharide content compared with either whole cells or crude cell envelopes, greatly reducing the risk of undesirable side-effects from vaccination.

Growing community of inventors

Salisbury, United Kingdom

Andrew Robinson