Unjustified basis for conclusion about need for multi-valent vaccine
Gerald Pier, Harvard Medical School
12 May 2011
The statement in the conclusion about the need for a multi-valent vaccine for S. aureus pneumonia (or other infections) cannot be based on the failure of Staph Vax. Failed experiments can be due to many reasons, and, like all negative data, are uninformative about future courses. Most people have high titers of natural antibody to many S. aureus virulence factors, it is highly unlikely antibodies to some conserved subset are missing in most people, making it likely most of us have antibodies to multiple S. aureus antigens and an antibody to a single antigen that is absent in most people could very well serve as a basis for a single component vaccine.
Competing interests
Income from development of poly-N-acetyl glucosamine based vaccine, including licensing and consulting income.
Unjustified basis for conclusion about need for multi-valent vaccine
12 May 2011
The statement in the conclusion about the need for a multi-valent vaccine for S. aureus pneumonia (or other infections) cannot be based on the failure of Staph Vax. Failed experiments can be due to many reasons, and, like all negative data, are uninformative about future courses. Most people have high titers of natural antibody to many S. aureus virulence factors, it is highly unlikely antibodies to some conserved subset are missing in most people, making it likely most of us have antibodies to multiple S. aureus antigens and an antibody to a single antigen that is absent in most people could very well serve as a basis for a single component vaccine.
Competing interests
Income from development of poly-N-acetyl glucosamine based vaccine, including licensing and consulting income.