The ‘world’s-first’ vaccine against vomiting bug norovirus is set to be trialled in the UK.
Called Nova 301, the study is part of the 10-year Moderna-UK Strategic Partnership and involves a collaboration between the National Institute for Health and Care Research, the Department of Health and Social Care, the UK Health Security Agency and the pharmaceutical company Moderna, which is producing the vaccine.
Dr Patrick Moore, chief investigator of the study and National Institute for Health and Care Research director in the Southwest, said there were currently ‘no approved vaccines for norovirus anywhere in the world’ and the only treatment available for people with serious illness in hospital is intravenous fluids. ‘We hope that the jab could bring huge health and economic benefits.’
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Norovirus is known as the winter vomiting bug and is highly transmissible. It causes vomiting and diarrhoea, usually for two to three days and can affect people of all ages.
According to Dr Moore, ‘about one in five cases of gastroenteritis are caused by norovirus – that’s about four million cases annually in the UK and about 685 million globally.’
Scheduled to run for 2 years, the study will enroll 25,000 from countries including Japan, Canada and Australia. In total, 27 NHS primary and secondary care sites in England, Scotland and Wales will be involved in the trial, with about 2,500 participants to be recruited from late October.
Within the trial, half of the participants will be randomly allocated to receive the new vaccine, and the other half will receive a saline shot as a placebo. The new jab uses mRNA technology to tell the immune system to recognise a foreign protein on viruses and mount an attack, in this case targeting three major strains of norovirus.
If the jab shows 65% or higher efficacy, Moderna will submit its details to have the vaccine approved by health regulators. Further trials would also be carried out in teenagers and younger children.
Commenting on the trial, Wes Streeting, Health and Social Care Secretary, said that the UK is paving the way to develop innovative vaccines to combat the ‘highly infectious vomiting bug that puts the NHS under huge strain every winter’.
‘Not only is this a huge vote of confidence in the UK’s life sciences sector, but a successful vaccine will help shift our health system away from sickness and towards prevention – reducing pressure on the NHS and keeping people well during the colder months.’