• Email Us: [email protected]
  • Contact Us: +1 718 874 1545
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Medical Market Report

  • Home
  • All Reports
  • About Us
  • Contact Us

Vaccine-In-A-Pill For Norovirus, The Infamous Winter Bug, Performs Well In Early Trials

March 14, 2025 by Deborah Bloomfield

A vaccine against norovirus, the dreaded “winter vomiting bug”, could be closer than you think: early clinical trials have returned positive results for a vaccine candidate that is taken orally as a pill. The trial targeted older adults, who are particularly at risk from severe complications from the infection that causes annual misery for so many.

ADVERTISEMENT

When we say “vaccine” we immediately think “injection”, but there is a precedent for oral vaccines – most notably the oral polio vaccine that millennials of a certain age almost certainly received as a small children. 

In this case, the pill, called VXA-G1.1-NN, has been designed to deliver a harmless viral vector carrying a norovirus protein directly to the small intestine. This is not the only norovirus vaccine currently in trials – for example, a trial of an mRNA vaccine was launched in the UK last year – but developers Vaxart believe there are a lot of advantages to their pill format.

Writing on their website, they explain that the platform is adaptable to both existing and emerging diseases, avoids problems with storage, eliminates the risk of needlestick injuries, and promotes strong immune responses at mucosal barrier surfaces.

This last point is particularly important with norovirus. It means that, in response to the vaccine, the body builds its defenses right at the places where the virus is likely to try and gain entry – the lining of the nose and mouth, for instance. 

“Given that norovirus is transmitted through mucosal routes, a vaccine that elicits protective immunity at barrier surfaces would be desirable,” write the study authors in their paper. 

Norovirus outbreaks are so hard to control because as few as 10 viral particles are enough to spark an infection. The virus is not easily killed by hand sanitizers, so regular soap and water and surface cleaners with bleach are the best tools we have to stop it. However, given that someone who’s been struck down with the disease can remain infectious for weeks after their symptoms have gone, it’s easy to see how the virus can spread like wildfire in settings like schools, care homes, and cruise ships. 

ADVERTISEMENT

Most people will recover from a bout of norovirus within a few very unpleasant days, but the consequences can be much more serious in older people. Severe vomiting and diarrhea bring a risk of dehydration, which can be deadly if not treated. 

Unfortunately, it’s precisely this group of people who are more difficult to target with vaccines. The immune system starts to wind down a bit as we age, thanks to a process called immunosenescence. Basically, it becomes harder to elicit a strong response from it with a vaccine.

Add to that the fact that norovirus is not just one virus, but rather a group of them, and you have a complex problem on your hands.

However, Vaxart’s candidate vaccine pill appears to be hitting the right notes. In the trial, 65 adults aged 55-80 were stratified into three cohorts – low, medium, and high dose – and a placebo group. They were further divided into younger (55-65) and older (66-80) age groups. 

ADVERTISEMENT

Each treatment group was given two pills, with the second 28 days after the first as a booster. The vaccine was found to be safe, with no serious adverse events occurring.

Better still, it was effective. The team found that the pills elicited a strong antibody response in blood, saliva, and nasal secretions. The mucosal immunity lasted for 210 days, showing it was not a short-term response. 

“The mucosal response induced by VXA-G1.1-NN has the potential to inhibit infection, viral shedding, and transmission,” the authors conclude. While additional, larger trials will now be needed, they believe it is a positive first step. So much so, Vaxart just announced they are launching a Phase 1 trial for a second-generation norovirus vaccine pill, to run concurrently. 

For anyone who was struck down during the worse-than-usual norovirus season that hit UK and US headlines recently, this will be music to their ears.

ADVERTISEMENT

The study is published in the journal Science Translational Medicine. 

Deborah Bloomfield
Deborah Bloomfield

Related posts:

  1. Chinese court rules against #MeToo plaintiff
  2. Deere workers reject six-year labor contract
  3. What Was The Egyptian Book Of The Dead?
  4. Mysterious Low Rumbling Noise Heard In Florida For Years Gets NSFW Explanation

Source Link: Vaccine-In-A-Pill For Norovirus, The Infamous Winter Bug, Performs Well In Early Trials

Filed Under: News

Primary Sidebar

  • Martian Mudstone Has Features That Might Be Biosignatures, New Brain Implant Can Decode Your Internal Monologue, And Much More This Week
  • Crocodiles Weren’t All Blood-Thirsty Killers, Some Evolved To Be Plant-Eating Vegetarians
  • Stratospheric Warming Event May Be Unfolding In The Southern Polar Vortex, Shaking Up Global Weather Systems
  • 15 Years Ago, Bees In Brooklyn Appeared Red After Snacking Where They Shouldn’t
  • Carnian Pluvial Event: It Rained For 2 Million Years — And It Changed Planet Earth Forever
  • There’s Volcanic Unrest At The Campi Flegrei Caldera – Here’s What We Know
  • The “Rumpelstiltskin Effect”: When Just Getting A Diagnosis Is Enough To Start The Healing
  • In 1962, A Boy Found A Radioactive Capsule And Brought It Inside His House — With Tragic Results
  • This Cute Creature Has One Of The Largest Genomes Of Any Mammal, With 114 Chromosomes
  • Little Air And Dramatic Evolutionary Changes Await Future Humans On Mars
  • “Black Hole Stars” Might Solve Unexplained JWST Discovery
  • Pretty In Purple: Why Do Some Otters Have Purple Teeth And Bones? It’s All Down To Their Spiky Diets
  • The World’s Largest Carnivoran Is A 3,600-Kilogram Giant That Weighs More Than Your Car
  • Devastating “Rogue Waves” Finally Have An Explanation
  • Meet The “Masked Seducer”, A Unique Bat With A Never-Before-Seen Courtship Display
  • Alaska’s Salmon River Is Turning Orange – And It’s A Stark Warning
  • Meet The Heaviest Jelly In The Seas, Weighing Over Twice As Much As A Grand Piano
  • For The First Time, We’ve Found Evidence Climate Change Is Attracting Invasive Species To Canadian Arctic
  • What Are Microfiber Cloths, And How Do They Clean So Well?
  • Stowaway Rat That Hopped On A Flight From Miami Was A “Wake-Up Call” For Global Health
  • Business
  • Health
  • News
  • Science
  • Technology
  • +1 718 874 1545
  • +91 78878 22626
  • [email protected]
Office Address
Prudour Pvt. Ltd. 420 Lexington Avenue Suite 300 New York City, NY 10170.

Powered by Prudour Network

Copyrights © 2025 · Medical Market Report. All Rights Reserved.

Go to mobile version