The Lyme Disease Vaccine: Conception, Development, and Implementation

In the past 20 years, remarkable strides have been made toward understanding and preventing Lyme disease in humans. In December 1998, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved a recombinant outer surface protein A vaccine against Lyme disease (LYMErix, SmithKline Beecham, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania). The vaccine, which is derived from a lipidated outer surface protein of the causative spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi, is important because it may decrease the morbidity and financial costs associated with Lyme disease. Its mechanism is unique because it works inside the tick vector itself, preventing the human from becoming infected.