An article in the Journal of Experimental Medicine last weekreported that a vaccine developed by MedImmune Inc.prevents Lyme disease in a mouse model.

The genetically engineered vaccine is designed to present acritical Lyme disease protein in a highly immunogenic format.

The Gaithersburg, Md., company (NASDAQ:MEDI) has developedthe vaccine for human use and expects to submit aninvestigational new drug application (IND) in late 1993 to beginclinical trials.

The vaccine is based on Bacille Calmette-Guerin (BCG), a livebacterium that has been used for more than 50 years toimmunize people against tuberculosis. MedImmune hasdeveloped techniques to insert genes from various disease-causing organisms into BCG and has filed a series of patentsworldwide on the use of recombinant BCG.

Authors of the mouse model article include C. Kendall Stover ofMedImmune and scientists from the Medical Research CenterTuberculosis and Related Infections Unit at HammersmithHospital in London and the University of Texas Health ScienceCenter in San Antonio, Texas.

-- Nancy Garcia Associate Editor

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