Ricin Vaccine Has Early Promise
By MARILYN CHASE
Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
January 31, 2006; Page D5
Researchers at the University of Texas Southwestern in Dallas reported that small initial human studies of a ricin vaccine produced initial signs of safety and hints of potential efficacy. They said further studies are planned to strengthen and refine the vaccine against the potential bioterror agent.
Ricin, a toxin derived from castor beans that is lethal when injected, swallowed or inhaled, has no known antidote.
Volunteers receiving the vaccine in the Texas study experienced only mild reactions including muscle soreness and headaches. Human antibodies created by the vaccine were later injected into mice along with a lethal dose of ricin, and the animals survived, researchers said. The research, made public late yesterday, will be published online and in an upcoming issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. U.S. Army researchers in Fort Detrick, Md., earlier reported encouraging results of animal studies of a different ricin vaccine.
Ellen Vitetta, lead author of the UT report, said the 15-person pilot study was to her knowledge the first human ricin vaccine trial to reach publication. The study was small because it was supported by academic funding, she said. Future research will seek to develop both oral and aerosol versions of the vaccine, to make a formula that is stable at room temperature, and to strengthen the immune response by adding ingredients called adjuvants.
Shares of DOR BioPharma Inc. of Miami, exclusive licensee of the University of Texas ricin vaccine known as RiVax, rose five cents to 50 cents in 4 p.m. American Stock Exchange trading yesterday. The stock price has surged in recent weeks. A spokesman declined to comment on the stock-price rise as a matter of policy.
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