CRUZIVAX is a H2020 research project performing preclinical and clinical phase 1 studies of a needle-free vaccine it is developing against Trypanosoma cruzi. The vaccine will strengthen the pipeline of products for Chagas disease.
The CRUZIVAX community for sharing public results and outcomes of the CRUZIVAX projected funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under grant agreement no. 815418.
Chagas is a neglected disease caused by Trypanosoma cruzi endemic in 21 Latin-American countries. It is the largest parasitic disease burden in the Americas (>11,000,000 chronic infections) and the first cause of cardiac morbidity in poor rural/suburban areas. It became a worldwide concern as a result of mass migration with reports in 19 nonendemic areas (>1.3 million carriers in EU/USA). Treatment is difficult since acute infections have mild symptoms and remain largely unnoticed evolving to chronicity. Drug therapy is also long, often associated with side effects (10-30% interruption) and only active during early infection. The main objective of CRUZIVAX is to bridge the gap between preclinical and clinical development by performing preclinical and clinical phase 1 studies of a needle-free vaccine against T. cruzi with proven efficacy in preclinical models. The vaccine is based on a structure-engineered trivalent chimeric antigen lacking immune decoy sequences and an adjuvant promoting self-limited locally-restricted immune activation stimulating humoral and cellular immunity, which is expected to protect as prophylactic or therapeutic (combined with Benznidazole) vaccine. The vaccine will strengthen the pipeline of products for Chagas disease, aimed at reducing disease burden and its social and economic impact.