M72 Vaccine Doesn't Replace BCG, Only Additional Protection For Youth And Adults

Health workers are preparing to inject the Bacille Calmette-Gurrin (BCG) vaccine and Polio vaccine to babies during child immunization at Kuta Alam Health Center, Banda Aceh, Aceh. (ANTARA)

JAKARTA - The M72 vaccine, which is currently in the final stages of clinical trials, is not designed to replace the Bacllus Calmette-Guerrin (BCG) vaccine, but as a complement in an effort to eliminate tuberculosis (TB).

The BCG vaccine will still be the main vaccine for infants and children, as it proves effective in preventing the form of heavy TB at an early age.

"This BRG is indeed quite effective for children under five years old. Even if they are exposed to TB, it is generally not heavy. Therefore, BCG is still very relevant and still used," explained National Researcher for Vaccines TB, dr. Erlina Burhan, as quoted by ANTARA.

However, he stressed that the BCG vaccine does not provide optimal protection for adolescents and adults, so a new vaccine such as M72 is needed to fill these gaps. The M72 vaccine is specially developed to provide additional immunity to older age groups.

As of September 2024, there were 15 candidate for tuberculosis vaccines being developed at the global level. Of these, four vaccines are still in the early stages (phase 1), three vaccines are in phase 2A, the other two are in phase 2B, and six have entered the phase 3 clinical trial stage.

Of all these candidates, M72 is the most promising, as it has reached phase 3 and the recruitment process for volunteers as many as 20 thousand people from various countries has been completed. The preclinical stage of this vaccine began from 1994 to 2005, while clinical trials took place from 2005 to 2013 in a number of countries such as Switzerland, Belgium, and the United States.

However, the development of this vaccine was delayed when it entered phase 2 due to funding constraints. Fortunately, the support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Wellcome Trust from the UK managed to revive this research. Phase 2B M72 was then continued and took place in the 2014 '2018) period.

In the discussion, dr. Erlina also mentioned the halal status of the M72 vaccine. He explained that this vaccine uses proteins taken from bacteria, not from materials that contain haram elements.

The main components come from bacterial proteins, not from animal ingredients such as pigs. Even the adjuvants are partly plant-based and lipid from their own bacteria," he said.

He added that although technically it does not contain haram elements, the halal certification process is still important for authorized institutions such as MUI before vaccines are widely used in the community. This is to ensure public trust and acceptance of the new vaccine.