A new drug being tested at Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit might have the power to cut the hospital stay of tiny premature babies, increase survival rates, and address the growing problem of super germs in the nation’s neonatal intensive care units, all at the same time.
Staphylococcus is a bacteria that’s harmless to most healthy children and adults; it lives on our skin and on surfaces we frequently touch. But if Staph gets into the blood stream of a premature baby, the results can be devastating, or even deadly.
MAB-N003 is the name that’s being used for a new drug that’s being tested to fight staph infections in the NICU. Some are calling MAB-N003 "the Staph vaccine", although it is designed to mimic a natural portion of the human immune system that simply hasn’t had time to develop in these tiny babies.
Babies in the NICU are sometimes called million dollar babies because they often have to stay in the hospital for months, at a tremendous expense in healthcare dollars, and with great emotional impact to the parents.
Staph infections are the cause of half the infections these babies suffer, and is part of the reason some babies stay hospitalized for so long.
Using more antibiotics to fight the ever-growing problem of antibiotic resistant germs, like staph, is a major concern worldwide. That’s why studies like this one, to help the human body prevent the infection in the first place, are so exciting.
MAB-N003 is a manufactured version of a natural part of the human immune system that fights Staphylococcus bacteria by keeping it from adhering to healthy cells. It also acts as an antigen to Lipoteichoic acid, called anti-LPA. Lipoteichoic acid is a toxin produced by staph. It’s the toxin that causes damage to a baby’s body during a generalized staph infection. If the toxin can be neutralized by anti-LPA, babies may be able to achieve a much higher survival rate, and recover faster.
The Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital study began in June. Fewer than a dozen babies have been enrolled at Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital thus far, but more parents are being asked if they will allow their babies participate. The drug’s manufacturer is trying to recruit 80 babies from across the country to take part in the study of MAB-N003 before enrollment closes in October 2003.
If all goes well, MAB-N003 could be approved for use and on the market within two years.
Contact: Carole H. Bartoo, (615) 322-4747 carole.bartoo@vanderbilt.edu