Kristie McNealy, MD

Last week, I discussed the ongoing debate over which babies should receive Synagis, a medication which is used to prevent respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infections in preemies and other high risk infants and toddlers.  RSV is a common respiratory virus which can have severe complications in preemies and babies with certain heart and lung conditions.  Ideally, we would have an economical vaccine which could protect all children from RSV, which happens to be the leading cause of hospitalization for infants and children in the US.

So far, there has been little to no success in developing an RSV vaccine, but a $600,000 grant awarded to GenVec may move us one step closer.  GenVec was awarded the 2 year grant by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases to fund research and development of an RSV vaccine.  According to Dr. Rick King, GenVec’s Senior Vice President of Research, the “overall goal of this program is to develop a safe vaccine that provides protection against RSV.”  GenVec is currently using its proprietary adenovector technology to develop vaccines for infectious diseases including HIV, malaria, foot-and-mouth disease, RSV, and influenza.

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