Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute and The Salk Institute for Biological Studies have developed a new and highly effective agent that provides protection against anthrax by combining a fast-acting anthrax toxin inhibitor with a vaccine in a single compound.
The immune response generated in rats by the new agent protects against lethal toxin exposure after only one injection, and is faster and stronger than any currently available vaccine. The new study, led by Scripps Research scientists Anette Schneemann and Marianne Manchester, and Salk Institute Professor John A.T. Young, was published in the journal
PLoS Pathogens (Volume 3, Issue 10).
"The new anti-anthrax agent that we developed is an important and potentially critical development for anyone who works with the bacterium or those who might be exposed to it in a bioterrorism attack," Schneemann said. "While other strategies are being pursued to develop improved anthrax vaccines, none of these offer the distinct advantage of combining the function of a vaccine with a potent antitoxin."
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