hMPV/PIV-3 vaccine

MedImmune is working on a vaccine that could potentially prevent human metapneumovirus (hMPV) and parainfluenzavirus type 3 (PIV-3). These viruses, along with respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) are among the most commonly occurring respiratory viruses of childhood, causing bronchitis, bronchiolitis, croup, cough, fever and pneumonia.

hMPV is a newly discovered virus believed to be a common cause of serious lower respiratory tract infections in young children. Early epidemiology studies indicate that outbreak patterns of hMPV are similar to those of other respiratory infections, occurring in annual epidemics that peak during the fall and winter months. It is believed that by five years of age nearly all children will have been infected with hMPV. The clinical symptoms of hMPV range from mild respiratory problems to severe cough, bronchiolitis and pneumonia.

PIV-3 infects infants, children and adults, primarily during the spring and summer months. In the United States, at least 60 percent of children are infected by the time they reach two years of age and 80 percent by age four, with symptoms lasting from three to eight days. While the majority of PIV-3 infections are mild to moderate, lower respiratory tract disease due to PIV-3 is responsible for as many as 50,000 hospitalizations annually in the United States. There is currently no available PIV-3 vaccine or therapeutic.

In addition to this vaccine tarketing both hMPV and PIV-3, MedImmune is also working to develop antibodies that may have the potential to prevent hMPV infection.