Development of a multicomponent Staphylococcus aureus vaccine designed to counter multiple bacterial virulence factors

Abstract

Staphylococcus aureus is a major cause of healthcare-associated infections and is responsible for a substantial burden of disease in hospitalized patients. Despite increasingly rigorous infection control guidelines, the prevalence and corresponding negative impact of S. aureus infections remain considerable. Difficulties in controlling S. aureus infections as well as the associated treatment costs are exacerbated by increasing rates of resistance to available antibiotics. Despite ongoing efforts over the past 20 years, no licensed S. aureus vaccine is currently available. However, learnings from past clinical failures of vaccine candidates and a better understanding of the immunopathology of S. aureus colonization and infection have aided in the design of new vaccine candidates based on multiple important bacterial pathogenesis mechanisms. This review outlines important considerations in designing a vaccine for the prevention of S. aureus disease in healthcare settings.

Keywords: :

• Staphylococcus aureus vaccine
• vaccine development
• immune evasion
• clinical trial
• virulence factor

Disclosure of Potential Conflicts of Interest

All authors are employees of Pfizer and as such were paid to do this work and may have shares in the company. ASA was a previously employed by Merck and may have shares in the company.

Acknowledgments

This report was sponsored by Pfizer. The authors would like to acknowledge the following individuals for their contribution to this work: Yekaterina Timofeyeva, Julio Cesar, Pam Fink and Sandra Buitrago from Pfizer Vaccines; Magnus Hook and Emanual Smeds from Texas A&M.