THE
MOST IMPORTANT DISCOVERIES AT THE BEGINNING OF THE 21ST CENTURY
Plotkin S.A.
1. Acellular pertussis vaccines- though the
principles were discovered years before, and they have been used in Japan for
longer than 10 years, the use of acellular pertussis vaccines has erased a controversy
about pertussis vaccines.
2.
Inactivated polio vaccine- Like a phoenix, IPV has risen from the embers
to become the polio vaccine of choice in developed countries.
3.
Varicella-zoster vaccine- The first vaccine for a herpes group virus, it should
control the last major viral exanthem of childhood.
4.
Live influenza vaccine- Another renaissance. Although the strains were
attenuated years ago, the recent clinical development raises the possibility of
control of influenza epidemics.
5. Rotavirus- Despite the recall of the first candidate rotavirus vaccine, the fact has been demonstrated that this major cause of global mortality can be controlled by vaccination.
6.
Combination vaccines for infants- A crucial development to allow the inclusion
of additional vaccines in the pediatric schedule. Widely used outside the US,
and perhaps soon in this country.
7. Conjugation of bacterial polysaccharides by proteins- Again, an old discovery, but the successful pneumococcal and meningococcal conjugated vaccine promise to repeat the success of Hib conjugates.
8.
Attenuated vectors- The insertion of genes into attenuated viruses or bacteria
is the most promising new vaccine strategy available today.
9.“Naked”
DNA- Although the discovery that DNA plasmids are immunogenic has not yet
yielded a licensed vaccine, the technique has had tremendous value as a means
of identifying protective antigens.
10.Transgenic plants-The idea of immunizing via plant produced vaccine antigens given orally may or may not be feasible, but already has changed our ideas about the immunology of the gastrointestinal tract.