The Quest for a Vaccine Against a Killer Bug

Staphylococcus aureus can strike healthy, young people with no known risk factors, survive a barrage of antibiotics, and sometimes be fatal. The bacterium, which often resides on people’s skin, is usually harmless. But some varieties can turn deadly if they lead to an infection that invades the lungs or bloodstream. One antibiotic-resistant strain frequently found in hospitals is responsible for about 75,000 serious infections and 10,000 deaths in the U.S. a year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Protection. Attempts to create a vaccine have been disappointing. That hasn’t stopped Pfizer from trying. “It’s one of the biggest bacterial problems that anyone’s ever encountered across the years,” says Annaliesa Anderson, a senior director in Pfizer’s vaccine research division in Pearl River, N.Y. “If we can solve it, it will be a great benefit to health.”

The pharmaceutical giant has spent more than 15 years working on a vaccine against the bug and is in the midst of testing it on patients preparing to undergo elective spinal surgery. A 2,600-person trial is expected to be completed in 2017, and, depending on the results, the data could be submitted to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in support of Pfizer’s application for regulatory approval. “Ultimately, this could be something that you’re using as a normal pre-op procedure,” says Credit Suisse analyst Vamil Divan. “You get your chest X-ray, you get your EKG, your blood work, and then you get a vaccine, and it helps lower your risk of acquiring a staph infection while you’re in the hospital.”