Streptococcus pneumoniae Vaccine

Streptococcus pneumoniae is a major cause of pneumonia, middle-ear infections and meningitis worldwide, especially in the very young or elderly. Pneumonia causes more than one million deaths per year and is the most common cause of childhood death in developing countries. In industrialized countries, pneumococcal pneumonia is a serious problem among the elderly. Middle-ear infections affect almost every child at least once during the first two years of life. Vaccination against pneumococcal infections has become more urgent in recent years due to the emergence of antibiotic-resistant strains throughout the world.

In 2000, MedImmune granted GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) a worldwide, exclusive license to its Streptococcus pneumoniae vaccine technology in exchange for an up-front payment and future milestones totaling more than $30 million, plus royalties on product sales. Under the terms of the agreement, GSK is responsible for all clinical development, manufacturing and sales and marketing activities for the S. pneumoniae vaccine. MedImmune completed the technology transfer to GSK by the fourth quarter of 2000. The technology licensed to GSK was originally developed in collaboration with Human Genome Sciences, Inc. and St. Jude's Childrens Research Hospital.

GSK began human clinical testing in November 2003 and the program is currently in Phase 1.