An affordable vaccine against RSV
Natalie Mazur is researching a new, affordable vaccine against RSV. In 2021, she received a Junior Investigator Grant from Longfonds to support this research. The aim is to develop a vaccine that can be easily administered through the nose and made available to children around the world.
Expensive vaccine
Every year, around 2,000 children in the Netherlands are hospitalized with RSV. Worldwide, it is the second leading cause of death among infants. The existing vaccine reduces the risk of hospitalization by 50 to 80 percent. ‘But it is so expensive that many countries cannot afford it. Even in the Netherlands, the treatment is not reimbursed for most children. Hospitalization is actually cheaper,’ says Natalie Mazur, a physician-researcher in the pediatric department at UMC Utrecht. She wants children in poorer countries to have access to a vaccine, not just those in the wealthiest nations.
A solution
The solution Natalie has developed works locally, unlike the existing treatment. Her idea is that since the virus enters the body through the nose, it should be stopped there. She believes this approach makes more sense than the existing vaccine, which requires children to receive injections every winter. If successful, this new vaccine, administered daily as nasal drops during winter, could reduce costs by 99 percent. It would also be much easier to administer. In addition to Longfonds, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is supporting her research.
Read the recently published article about Natalie's research in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine. Longfonds is pleased that the research we support is also being recognized internationally for its impact.
Read the update on this research from 5 September 2024.