MedImmune Inc. preclinical data

Antibodies to the decorin binding protein on the bacterium that causes Lyme disease can be given to mice four days after infection and still clear the microbe from the body, MEDI reported at the International Congress on Lyme Borreliosis in San Francisco. A candidate vaccine is in preclinical testing, and should enter human trials in 1997. The protein isolated from the bacterium binds to a protein called decorin found in human skin and cartilage. MEDI has exclusive license to the binding protein from Texas A&M University.

Other vaccine developers are working on candidates that target a protein, OspA. MEDI said that OspA is lost from the bacterium as the tick is feeding, and may only work for a limited time after exposure. Also, OspA is not found on all strains outside the U.S. ...