Glycoconjugate vaccines provide effective prophylaxis against bacterial infections. To date, however, no commercial vaccine has been available in which the key carbohydrate antigens are produced synthetically. We describe the large-scale synthesis, pharmaceutical development, and clinical evaluation of a conjugate vaccine composed of a synthetic capsular polysaccharide antigen of Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib). The vaccine was evaluated in clinical trials in Cuba and showed long-term protective antibody titers that compared favorably to licensed products prepared with the Hib polysaccharide extracted from bacteria. This demonstrates that access to synthetic complex carbohydrate-based vaccines is feasible and provides a basis for further development of similar approaches for other human pathogens.

A multicomponent reaction enables the one-pot assembly of immunogenic multivalent glycoconjugates.

No abstract

SARS-CoV-2 infection is mediated by the interaction of the spike glycoprotein trimer via its receptor-binding domain (RBD) with the host’s cellular receptor. Vaccines seek to block this interaction by eliciting...

No abstract