Blackfoot clinic testing RSV vaccines

RSV, or respiratory syncytial virus, is one of the leading causes of respiratory problems in young children. Worldwide, it’s responsible for anywhere from 66 to 199,000 infant deaths each year. Currently, there is no vaccine for it.

Right now, doctors and pharmaceutical companies are working to develop one. It’s such an important issue that the Food and Drug and Administration has helped expedite the vaccine’s research and development.

RSV causes inflammation and fluid buildup in the lungs. Because younger children and infants have smaller airways, this virus can be extremely devastating to them.

A pharmaceutical company, called NovaVax, is working to develop and test a vaccine to help prevent RSV. Elite Clinical Trials in Blackfoot is working with NovaVax to test the vaccine.

Dr. Paul Beckett with Elite Clinical Trials said it’s a common problem and this year has actually seen more cases than in years past. So some time of help or vaccine for RSV is needed.

“You could ask any physician that takes care of young children,” Beckett said. “We’re very busy taking care of infants with RSV. So it would be wonderful to have something to protect them from getting this because we don’t really have anything to offer for treatment for these children. Supportive care, oxygen suctioning, control of fever…that’s about it.”

There is also no antibiotic that can help because RSV isn’t bacterial.

So Elite Clinical Trials will be running clinical trials for the possible vaccine that NovaVax has worked on.

Elite will administer the vaccine to pregnant women in their third trimester – at 28 weeks. When babies are still in the womb, they develop between 90 to 100 percent of the mother’s antibodies. The better protected the mother is, the more protected the baby will be. That’s part of the idea of prevention.

Beckett said the clinical trials are the third phase of the vaccine. There have been several investigator and protocol meetings about the vaccine. There has been years of developmental research done on it and there have been two phases of safety testing. Beckett said doctors have determined it’s a safe vaccine. He said with any vaccine or medication, there is the possibility of things like an allergic reaction but they don’t anticipate any severe problems. He said patients will be a list with all the information about the vaccine before agreeing to participate.

Beckett said as both a practicing family physician and a clinical trial doctor, it’s exciting to be a part of it all.

“To participate in the clinical trial is also exciting because this is the process that gets medications and life saving therapies to market so it’s interesting for us and physicians also very gratifying to be involved with something that’s going to potentially impact millions of lives,” Beckett said.

The clinic will begin trials in June and it needs patients – as many as possible. Those interested in learning more about the trials can contact the clinic at 208-643-0006.

NovaVax is also working on developing vaccines for other diseases like Zika and Ebola.