A Vaccine for UTIs?

A Spanish pharmaceutical, Immunotek S.L., company has developed an oral spray which can be effective in preventing urinary tract infections in both men and women. The product carries the name, MV140.

Among patients subject to recurrent infections ,

They show that in both men and women subject to recurrent UTIs, 54% of study participants remained UTI-free for nine years after the vaccine, with no notable side effects reported.(1)

“The results were dramatic,” Yang said. “We had women who were coming month after month with infection after infection, despite all treatment, often with last-line antibiotics. And [after using the vaccine] they came back and said what have you done to us? We are infection-free.”(5)

This is the first long term study of this product, and the results were reported this month at the European Association of Urology (EAU) Congress in Paris.

Roughly half of women and 20% of men are subject to these infections. With the rise of antibiotic-resistant strains, the spray represents a welcome alternative treatment.

The study reported this month was conducted by the Royal Berkshire NHS Trust Foundation in London and covered a 9-year span. Unlike other vaccine trials, that’s an ample time in which to determine whether a product works and has any unfortunate surprises. MV140 works with no notable risks.

By the way, the spray is pineapple flavored.

Sources:

1. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2024-04-oral-vaccine-uti-potential-alternative.html
2. https://evidence.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/EVIDoa2100018
3. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10052183/
4. https://www.urologytimes.com/view/novel-vaccine-mv140-effective-at-treating-recurrent-utis
5. https://www.medscape.com/s/viewarticle/recurrent-utis-find-long-term-ally-oral-vaccine-2024a10006lc?ecd=mkm_ret_240419_mscpmrk_uro_top-content_etid6453243&uac=446438BR&impID=6453243