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The M140 UTI vaccine against recurrent UTIs is now being studied in Canada

Writer's picture: Cory ProctorCory Proctor


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Already in use in Europe, the vaccine reduces the number of urinary tract infection recurrences in significant numbers of women.


The M140 vaccine against recurrent UTIs is now being studied in Canada

A vaccine that is sprayed under the tongue for the prevention of recurrent urinary tract infections (UTIs) may be coming to Canada.


The M140 vaccine is already used in Europe, but recent clinical trials and other studies underway in Canada should nudge it closer to approval.

“I understand the company is doing safety, stability, and durability studies as part of their submission to Health Canada. If the application is submitted early next year, I expect it may be available late next year or 2026,” said urologist Dr. J. Curtis Nickel, who has conducted several l studies of the vaccine. He is a professor emeritus of medicine at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ont.


Oral and vaginal

He stated that Europeans also have access to other vaccines including oral and vaginal forms. “They have been around more than two decades,” he told the Canadian Healthcare Network. Indeed, the European Association of Urology guidelines recommend consideration of UTI vaccines. These vaccines are not presently approved or available in North America.

M140 was developed about 15 years ago by Spain-based Immunoteck and is a polyvalent sublingual vaccine developed for UTI prevention. It consists of four inactivated whole-cell bacteria—Escherichia coliKlebsiella pneumoniaeProteus vulgaris, and Enterococcus faecalis. Earlier studies reported that women who had suffered recurrent UTIs and who were treated with M140 had UTI-free rates of 32% to 90%.

At the 12-month follow-up, 80.3% reported they moderate improvement compared to 58.1% who reported they were mostly satisfied. Quality of life (QOL) scores improved by a mean of 1.5 points.

In practice, it would be used “daily, under the tongue for three months,” said Dr. Nickel. 

commentary by urologist Dr. Duane Hickling in the same journal stated the study brings, “further hope for a potential breakthrough in preventing recurrent UTIs in women.” Dr. Hickling is an assistant professor of surgery at the University of Ottawa.

He noted that while close to 40% of women were UTI-free and UTI recurrences were reduced by 75% during the study period, this is less than what was shown in a previous study of 240 women in Spain and the U.K.


'New possibilities'

But these results, “are more likely representative of and applicable to our real-world practice.” A possible reason for the difference is that the patients had a higher average number of UTIs per year than in the other study.

“As we await further studies in vulnerable patient populations and regulatory approvals, the MV140 sublingual vaccine presents itself as a promising therapeutic option, heralding new possibilities in combating recurrent UTIs,” he wrote.

A follow-up study, also by Dr. Nickel’s team, was a randomized controlled trial investigating the impact of the personal burden of disease reported on outcomes for a total of 150 women with recurrent UTIs.

That study concluded that MV140 taken for three months, “significantly reduces the personal burden of UTI disease by safely decreasing the risk of subsequent UTIs, reducing severity of overall UTI symptoms.” It also reduced antibiotic use and demonstrated improvements in QOL.

Recurrent UTIs in women are a major healthcare issue. They affect about 150 million people worldwide annually making them one of the most common bacterial infections. The severity of symptoms can range from a frequent sense of urgency to painful urination and abdominal pain to critical kidney infections if not treated. 

UTIs are commonly treated with antibiotics. However, growing antibiotic resistance is complicating treatment because some UTIs have become less responsive to conventional therapies.


UTI vaccine

More than half of all women will have at least one UTI in their lifetime, and despite treatment with antibiotics, 20% to 30% of these women suffer a recurrence within three to four months of the initial infection.


Pippa Wysong 12/28/2024



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