TrepomAb: Accelerating Syphilis Vaccine Development
Research type
Research Study
Full title
TrepomAb: Accelerating Syphilis Vaccine Development
IRAS ID
327299
Contact name
Michael Marks
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
Syphilis is an important sexually transmitted infection. There has been an epidemic of syphilis amongst men who have sex with men in the United Kingdom in the last decade. Early infection with syphilis causes a genital ulcer followed, in the absence of treatment, by a generalised illness often accompanied by rash. Studies on the pathogenesis of syphilis have been limited because it has not bee possible to grow syphilis outside of the body until very recently.
However new approaches have made this possible opening up avenues of research that were previously not possible. In particular the ability to grow syphilis in a lab facilitates fundamental research to help design a vaccine for syphilis.
In this study we will collect samples from ulcers or rashes and blood samples from patients with syphilis. We will use these samples to try and grow the syphilis bacteria in a lab, and then use the samples to understand which parts of the bacteria we may be able to target to develop a vaccine. Patients will be enrolled at sexual health clinics in the UK and Spain. Patients will receive standard medical care including standard treatment for syphilis in line with national guidelines. Standard management already includes collection of a swab and a blood sample. For this study we collect additional samples from their syphilis lesions and additional blood.
This study will help us establish how to best collect samples from patients with syphilis to allow us to grow it in the lab and then use these lab isolates to inform vaccine development.
REC name
London - City & East Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
23/PR/0389
Date of REC Opinion
17 Apr 2023
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion