How to Request Testing of Anti-Tuberculosis Vaccine

Vaccine Testing services under the TBVTRM Contract are undergoing a transition. All ongoing tests will be continued under the contract without change. All new vaccine candidates submitted for testing will be handled under a new NIAID/NIH contract: Advanced Small Animal Models for the Testing of Candidate Therapeutic and Preventative Intervention Against Mycobacteria Contract (Contract No. HHSN272201000009I Order No. HHSN27200003). Investigators that wish to submit candidate anti-mycobacteria vaccines for testing in animal models should send their request to Tina Parker (parkerti@niaid.nih.gov).

Vaccine candidates selected for testing will first be evaluated in the murine model of tuberculosis. Vaccine candidates demonstrating protection in the murine model will be further tested for protective efficacy against tuberculosis in the guinea pig model. Investigators submitting requests for vaccine testing must provide written justification of why their candidate vaccine should be evaluated. Criteria used to select vaccines for testing include evidence of T or B cell response to the antigen, lack of toxicity, preliminary protection assays, the need for diversity in candidate vaccines, evidence of adjuvant activity, or evidence of attenuation for live candidate vaccines. It is important that forms are completed in full and detailed information regarding a vaccine's potential to protect against tuberculosis is provided. Lack of appropriate information may delay approval and testing. All information provided to the contract will be treated as confidential.