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Therapeutic DNA vaccine for Tuberculosis From PDP supplied by LAKE-EE QUEK, June 2005 Tuberculosis (TB) is one of the most persistent diseases that affects the world population. One third of the world population has been infected, and TB is the 2nd largest cause of death by an infectious agent, after HIV. A TB patient dies every 15 seconds. The situation is complicated by the fact that antibiotics are outdated, and drug resistant Mycobacterium strains are increasing. The only treatment, DOTS (Direct Observed Treatment-Short course) program, is ineffective due to poor patient compliance and long treatment duration. Therefore there is a need for a cure for TB. The proposed product is a therapeutic DNA vaccine that, when used along with existing antibiotics, eliminates bacterial load in the lungs, blocks endogenous reactivation and protects from further exogenous re-infection. More importantly, the product will cut DOTS treatment time by half, and is effective against resistant Mycobacterium. The rational behind the DNA vaccine is that it restores the necessary quality and quantity of the host immune response originally disabled by the pathogen. Dr. Sung's research team was the first to design a novel combination of Mycobacterium antigens and a plasmid vector construct that conferred the highest level of protective immunity compared to previous DNA vaccines. Preliminary tests in mice showed very promising results. Given an R&D time of 12 years, the product should be ready for commercialisation by 2025.