Scientists in the Cooperative Research Centre for Oral Health Science from The University of Melbourne and CSL Ltd have identified candidate vaccine antigens for the wide-spread gum disease periodontitis.
CSL Limited, Australia's leading biopharmaceutical company, has signed an agreement with Sanofi Pasteur, the world's leading global manufacturer of vaccines, to fund a program in the CRC for Oral Health Science to further develop the vaccine.
Up to 30% of Australian adults suffer from periodontitis, which causes gums to bleed and teeth to fall out. The condition has also been linked with heart disease, stroke, adverse pregnancy outcomes, dementia and cancer.
"Periodontitis is a serious disease and dentists face a major challenge in treating it because most people will not know they have the disease until it's too late and the infection has progressed to advanced stages," said Professor Eric Reynolds AO, CEO of the Cooperative Research Centre for Oral Health Science and the Head of the University of Melbourne's Dental School.
"Traditional treatment for the disease often involves scaling and cleaning and even surgery in an effort to contain the bacterial infection," he said.
This new vaccine approach targets the 'ring leader' of a group of pathogenic bacteria that cause periodontitis, the bacterium called Porphyromonas gingivalis.
"We are very excited about this novel approach to the disease," said Professor Reynolds. "It will provide dentists and patients with a less invasive treatment, which prevents disease progression, rather than managing its symptoms and damaging consequences."
Watch an animation of how the new vaccine will work.
What will the new vaccine mean for dentists and patients?
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