Deaths could be prevented by GSK’s M72/AS01E

Trials of GSK’s tuberculosis vaccine M72 took place in multiple locations of Africa, where 2 doses of placebo or M72 were given to 3573 patients between the ages 18-50 for three years. The participants were HIV negative and were observed for three years to detect TB. After the three year period, results showed that M72 had a vaccine efficacy of fifty percent and that twenty six contributors developed TB in the placebo group, compared to thirteen contributors in the vaccine group.
Chief Medical Office of GSK Vaccines, Thomas Breuer, said: “These results demonstrate that for the first time in almost a century, the global community potentially has a new tool to help provide protection against TB. I want to thank our scientists for their dedicated effort and scientific innovation in developing this impactful vaccine candidate in partnership with IAVI and other key organisations,”
President and CEO of IAVI, Mark Feinberg, said: “These final results show that M72/AS01E could be an important tool in the fight against pulmonary tuberculosis. While additional trials need to be conducted to confirm these findings in other populations, we have never before seen a vaccine that provides protection in adults who are already infected with the bacteria that cause tuberculosis.”