New yellow fever vaccine shows promise in early human trial
NCT ID NCT02743455
First seen Jun 26, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
This early-stage study tested a new yellow fever vaccine (MVA-BN-YF) in 92 healthy adults aged 18-45. Some volunteers received the vaccine alone, some with an adjuvant (ISA 720) to boost the immune response, and others received a placebo or a different vaccine. The main goal was to check safety and how well the body's immune system responds. Since this is a Phase I trial, it is too early to know if the vaccine will prevent yellow fever.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- MVA-BN Yellow Fever Vaccine with or without Montanide ISA 720 adjuvant
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this could lead to a new, safer yellow fever vaccine that may be easier to produce and distribute.
- What could go wrong
- This is an early Phase I trial with only 92 people, so it is too soon to know if the vaccine works. Side effects are possible, and the results may not apply to everyone.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Phase 1
The first testing in people. Mainly checks safety and dose, usually in a small group.
- Participants
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92 people
The number who actually took part.
- Started
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Jul 2016
- Finished
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Mar 2018
- Lead sponsor
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A government research agency
The lead sponsor is the US National Institutes of Health.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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18 to 45 years
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Accepted
You do not need to have the condition being studied to take part.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: 1. Must be a male or female at least 18 to \< / = 45 years old at the time of screening. 2. Must be able to read and provide written consent and complete the Informed Consent. 3. Must have a body mass index (BMI) \> / = 18.5 and \< 35.0 kg/m\^2. 4. Must be in good health on the basis of physical examination, vital signs\*, medical history, safety laboratories, and the investigator's clinical judgment. \*Safety laboratory normal ranges will be those used by the reference clinical lab. Protocol-specific criteria for individual subjects are listed in criteria #6 * The clinical laboratory evaluations that will be graded as laboratory Adverse Events (AEs) and be considered for the Study or Individual Halting Rules are those which are included in the laboratory toxicity grading scales. * Vital signs must be in normal ranges. If a subject has elevated systolic or diastolic blood pressure, subject may rest for 10 minutes in a quiet room and then the blood pressure may be retaken once. 5. For Group 6: subjects must have documented previous vaccination with MVA-BN\*. \*In order to be enrolled, a subject has to have received two 1x10\^8 TCID50 doses of MVA-BN 19-45 days apart subcutaneous (SC) or intramuscular (IM) as part of participation in DMID vaccine trials 11-0021 or 09-0002. First dose must have been administered no earlier than 2010. 6. Must have acceptable\* laboratory criteria within 28 days before enrollment. \*Acceptable lab parameters include: * Hemoglobin: women: \> 11.0 g/dL; men \> 12.5 g/dL * White blood cell count: \> 3,700 cells/mm\^3 but \< 11,000 cells/mm\^3 * Platelets: \> 125,000 but \< 375,000 per mm\^3 * Urine dipstick (clean urine sample): protein \< 1+, glucose negative * Alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase (ALT, AST) \< 1.25 x institutional upper limit of normal * Blood urea nitrogen (BUN) \< / = 1 x institutional upper limit of normal * Total bilirubin \< 1.25x institutional upper limit of normal. * Serum creatinine \< / = 1 x institutional upper limit of normal * If laboratory screening tests are out of range, repeat of screening tests is permitted once, provided there is an alternative explanation for the out of range value. 7. Women of childbearing potential must have a negative serum pregnancy test at screening and negative urine pregnancy tests prior to each vaccination. 8. Women of childbearing potential must have an acceptable method of contraception\* from 28 days prior to the 1st vaccination until at least 60 days after the 2nd vaccination. \*Acceptable methods of contraception include the following: -Prescription oral contraceptives, contraceptive injections, intrauterine device (IUD), implants, vaginal ring, double-barrier method, contraceptive patch, male partner sterilization, abstinence (defined as refraining from heterosexual intercourse during participation in the study \[from 28 days before the first vaccination until at least 60 days after the last vaccination\]). Women of non-childbearing potential, defined as postmenopausal (any age with amenorrhea for = / \> 12 months without other known or suspected cause for amenorrhea, or surgically sterile (hysterectomy, bilateral tubal ligation, obilateral oophorectomy, or successful Essure(R) placement (permanent, non-surgical, non-hormonal sterilization) with documented confirmation test at least 3 months after the procedure), are not required to use the birth control methods. 9. Female subjects must agree to not donate eggs (ova, oocytes) from the start of screening onwards until at least 60 days after the last vaccination. 10. Male subjects who have not had a vasectomy and is sexually active with a woman of childbearing potential must agree to use an acceptable measure of birth control\* from 28 days prior to 1st vaccination until at least 60 days after the last vaccination. \*Acceptable methods of birth control include the following: * Abstinence (defined as refraining from heterosexual intercourse with a female partner of childbearing potential during participation in the study \[from 28 days before the first vaccination until at least 60 days after the last vaccination\]. * A double-barrier method of birth control, such as condom with spermicidal foam/gel/film/cream/suppository and partner with occlusive cap (diaphragm, cervical/vault caps). * In case the female partner is using an acceptable method of birth control (see Inclusion Criterion #8), a single-barrier method of birth control for the male subject is acceptable. 11. Male subjects must agree to not donate sperm from the start of screening onwards until at least 60 days after the last vaccination. 12. Must be available and willing to participate for the duration of the study visits and follow-up. 13. Must have a means to be contacted by telephone. Exclusion Criteria: 1. Was ever vaccinated with a licensed or investigational YF vaccine or was diagnosed with YF infection or disease\*. \*Includes YF-VAX, Stamaril, or Bio-Manguinhos yellow fever vaccine. Subject's verbal history will suffice. 2. Was ever vaccinated with a licensed or investigational Flavivirus vaccine\*. \*Including Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) vaccine or an investigational Flavivirus vaccine including dengue virus (DENV) or West Nile virus vaccine, or has been diagnosed with an illness caused by a Flavivirus including DENV, West Nile virus (WNV), JEV, St. Louis encephalitis, or tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV). Subject's verbal history will suffice. 3. Positive serology for HIV, Hepatitis C virus, or Hepatitis B surface antigen. 4. Positive serology to Dengue, Yellow Fever, or West Nile virus. 5. Plans to travel to a Yellow-Fever endemic area during the course of the study\* or travel to a Yellow-Fever endemic area within 30 days of screening. \*Subjects who have a recent travel to a Yellow Fever endemic area may screen if they have returned to the U.S. 30 or more days prior to the screening visit. Refer to the CDC Yellow Fever map for countries/regions at risk for Yellow Fever virus infection. http://www.cdc.gov/yellowfever/maps/ 6. Was ever vaccinated with a licensed or investigational smallpox vaccine\* with the exception of subjects in Group 6. \*Includes Dryvax, Acam2000, LC 16 m8, MVA-based vaccine candidate or licensed vaccines, and Imvamune or Imvanex. -EXCEPTION: Group 6 should have had two 1 x 10\^8 TCID 50 doses of MVA-BN 19-45 days apart SC or IM as part of participation in DMID vaccine trials 11-0021 or 09-0002. First dose must have been administered no earlier than 2010. 7. Has known allergy or history of anaphylaxis or other serious adverse reaction to a vaccine or vaccine products\*. \*Including egg products, aminoglycosides, gelatin, sorbitol, tris (hydroxymethyl)-amino methane (THAM), or any of the constituents of the study vaccines. 8. Has severe allergy or anaphylaxis to latex\*. \*Participants in Group 6 will not be exposed to latex and so may have history of severe allergy or anaphylaxis to latex. 9. Has an acute illness or temperature \> / = 38.0 degrees Celsius on Day 1 or Day 29\*. \*Subjects with fever or acute illness on the Day of vaccination may be re-assessed and enrolled if healthy or only minor residual symptoms remain within 3 days. 10. Female subjects who are pregnant or breast-feeding, or planning to become pregnant while enrolled in the study. 11. Has history of chronic or acute severe neurologic condition\*. \*Including history of seizure disorder or epilepsy, history of Guillain-Barre syndrome, Bell's palsy, meningitis, or disease with any focal neurologic deficits. 12. Has history of thymus disorder including myasthenia gravis, thymoma or prior thymectomy. 13. Has history of autoimmune disease, or clinically significant cardiac, pulmonary, hepatic, rheumatologic, or renal disease by history, physical examination, and/or laboratory studies\*. \*Includes the conditions and diagnoses defined as AESI. 14. Has history of malignancy other than squamous cell or basal cell skin cancer, unless there has been surgical excision that is considered to have achieved cure\*. \*Subjects with a history of skin cancer must not be vaccinated at the previous tumor site. 15. Has known or suspected congenital or acquired immunodeficiency, or recent history or current use of immunosuppressive therapy\*. \*Anti-cancer chemotherapy or radiation therapy within the preceding 6 months, or long-term (at least 2 weeks within the previous 3 months) systemic corticosteroids therapy (at a dose of at least 0.5 mg/kg/day). Intranasal or topical prednisone (or equivalent) are allowed. 16. Is post-organ and/or stem cell transplant whether or not on chronic immunosuppressive therapy. 17. Had major surgery (per the investigator's judgment) within the 4 weeks prior to study entry or planned major surgery during the course of the study. 18. Has personal history of recurring migraines (every 6 months or more often) or on prescription medication for treatment of recurring headaches or migraines. 19. Has history of cardiac disease\*. \*Myocarditis, pericarditis, cardiomyopathy, transient ischemic attack or stroke, myocardial infarction, angina, coronary artery disease, congestive heart failure, clinically significant arrhythmia. Includes any arrhythmia requiring medication, treatment, or clinical follow-up. 20. Has electrocardiogram (ECG) with clinically significant findings, or features that would interfere with the assessment of myocarditis/pericarditis\*. \*Including any of the following: * Conduction disturbance (complete left or complete right bundle branch block or nonspecific intraventricular conduction disturbance with QRS = / \> 120 ms, PR interval \> 219 ms, any second-or third-degree atrioventricular block, or prolongation of the QT interval corrected according to Bazett's formula \[QTcB\] \[\> 450 ms\]). * Significant repolarization (ST-segment or T-wave) abnormality. * Significant atrial or ventricular arrhythmia; frequent atrial or ventricular ectopy (e.g., frequent premature atrial contractions, 2 premature ventricular contractions in a row). * ST-elevation consistent with ischemia or evidence of past or evolving myocardial infarction. 21. Has history of diabetes mellitus type 1 or type 2, including cases controlled with diet alone. -Note: history of isolated gestational diabetes is not an exclusion criterion. 22. Has history of thyroidectomy, or thyroid disease requiring medication during the last 12 months. 23. Has history of hypertension even if medically controlled. -Note: Vital signs must be normal by protocol toxicity grading scale or determined to be normal-variant by investigator. In the event of an abnormal heart rate or blood pressure due to physiological variation or activity, the subject may rest for 10 minutes in a quiet room, and then blood pressure and/or heart rate may be re-measured. Repeated vital signs may be used to determine eligibility. 24. Received live attenuated vaccines from 30 days before Day 1 until 30 days after the 2nd vaccination. 25. Received killed or inactivated vaccines from 14 days before Day 1 until 14 days after the 2nd vaccination. 26. Received experimental therapeutic agents within 3 months prior to the first study vaccination or plans to receive any experimental therapeutic agents during the course of the study. 27. Is currently participating or plans to participate in another clinical study which would involve receipt of the following\*: \*An investigational product, blood drawing, or an invasive medical procedure that would require administration of anesthetics or intravenous dyes or removal of tissue during the study. -Includes endoscopy, bronchoscopy, or administration of IV contrast. 28. Received blood products or immunoglobulin in the 3 months before study entry or planned use during the course of the study. 29. Donated a unit of blood within 8 weeks before Day 1 or plans to donate blood during the course of the study. 30. Has major psychiatric illness during the past 12 months that in the opinion of the investigator would preclude participation. 31. Has current alcohol use or current or past abuse of recreational or narcotic drugs by history as judged by the investigator to potentially interfere with study adherence. 32. Has a history of chronic urticaria (recurrent hives). 33. Has tattoos, scars, or other marks on both deltoid areas which would, in the opinion of the investigator, interfere with assessment of the vaccination site. 34. Is a study site employee\* or staff who are paid entirely or partially by/through the OCRR contract for the trial, or staff who are supervised by the PI or Sub-Investigators. \*Including the Principal Investigator (PI), sub-Investigators listed in Form FDA 1572 or Investigator of Record Form. 35. In the opinion of the investigator cannot communicate reliably, is unlikely to adhere to the requirements of the study, or has any condition which would limit the subject's ability to complete the study.
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Saint Louis University Center for Vaccine Development
St Louis, Missouri, 63104-1015, United States
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University of Iowa - Vaccine Research and Education Unit
Iowa City, Iowa, 52242-2600, United States
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Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
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