Clonal vaccinia virus grown in cell culture as a new smallpox vaccine.
Although the smallpox virus was eradicated over 20 years ago, its potential release through bioterrorism has generated renewed interest in vaccination. To develop a modern smallpox vaccine, we have adapted vaccinia virus that was derived from the existing Dryvax vaccine for growth in a human diploid cell line. We characterized six cloned and one uncloned vaccine candidates. One clone, designated ACAM1000, was chosen for development based on its comparability to Dryvax when tested in mice, rabbits and monkeys for virulence and immunogenicity. By most measures, ACAM1000 was less virulent than Dryvax. We compared ACAM1000 and Dryvax in a randomized, double-blind human clinical study. The vaccines were equivalent in their ability to produce major cutaneous reactions ('takes') and to induce neutralizing antibody and cell-mediated immunity against vaccinia virus.
Weltzin
Richard
R
Acambis Inc., 38 Sidney Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA. richard.weltzin@acambis.com
Liu
Jian
J
Pugachev
Konstantin V
KV
Myers
Gwendolyn A
GA
Coughlin
Brie
B
Blum
Paul S
PS
Nichols
Richard
R
Johnson
Casey
C
Cruz
John
J
Kennedy
Jeffrey S
JS
Ennis
Francis A
FA
Monath
Thomas P
TP
D000818:Animals; D023482:Bioterrorism; D002460:Cell Line / Q000821:virology; D002999:Clone Cells; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D004353:Drug Evaluation, Preclinical / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D008253:Macaca mulatta; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D009500:Neutralization Tests; D011817:Rabbits; D012900:Smallpox Vaccine / Q000276:immunology* / Q000494:pharmacology*; D014616:Vaccinia virus / Q000276:immunology* / Q000472:pathogenicity; D014776:Virus Cultivation / Q000379:methods
C078786:DryVax vaccine; D012900:Smallpox Vaccine