MV-140 vaccine proven safe, effective in recurrent UTI

Immunotherapy with MV-140 (Uromune) successfully prevents urinary tract infections (UTIs) in patients suffering from recurrent UTIs, suggest the results of a prospective study presented at the 38th Annual EAU Congress (EAU 2023).

Specifically, 93 percent of the participants reported fewer UTI episodes in the year following treatment, while 38 percent reported no UTI episodes. Treatment with MV-140 also appeared to have reduced the severity of symptoms.

“Global patient satisfaction was encouraging, which may be explained by the high tolerability and effectiveness of this immunotherapy,” said the investigators, led by Dr Filipe Lopes from the Department of Urology at Centro Hospitalar Universitário Lisboa Norte in Lisboa, Portugal.

Lopes and his team conducted this prospective, observational study and reported the presence, frequency, and severity of UTI symptoms in 50 consecutive patients with recurrent UTIs who received MV-140 at a university hospital. Adults with at least three UTIs in the preceding year were included.

Questionnaires, completed before and a year after treatment, were used to obtain the results. The investigators also examined the frequency of side effects and the global satisfaction with the therapy as secondary outcomes.

Of the patients, eight were excluded for their lack of data in the questionnaires or failure to complete the treatment. Among the 42 patients (mean age 54.7 years) remaining, 34 were women. [EAU 2023, abstract A0136]

A year prior to treatment, patients had an average of five UTI episodes. Twelve months after the initiation of MV-140, 16 (38 percent) patients reported being free of UTI, 14 (33 percent) had one or two UTI episodes, and 12 (29 percent) experienced at least three UTI episodes.

“We observed a mean reduction of 3.2 UTI episodes, and only three patients did not report a reduction of UTIs,” the investigators said.

In addition, assessment of symptom severity showed that 26 patients had UTIs in the follow-up period, 21 (81 percent) reported a decrease in severity or duration of symptoms, while five (19 percent) experienced no difference. None of the patients reported a worsening of symptoms.

Some adverse events (AEs) were also reported, including two cases of fatigue, two cases of nausea, and one case of abdominal discomfort. These AEs were deemed mild, and none of the participants discontinued treatment. Notably, the mean global satisfaction rate was 7.5.

“UTIs are the most common bacterial infections in humans; [i]ts high incidence and the necessity of antibiotic therapy and/or prophylaxis contribute to the rising concern of antibiotic resistance,” the investigators said. “Nonantibiotic therapies, such as oral vaccines, have been developed in order to avoid antibiotic use.”

MV-140, a sublingual vaccine, consists of four inactivated bacteria, namely E. coli, K. pneumonia, E. faecalis, and Proteus vulgaris. This immunotherapy has been approved for the prevention of recurrent UTIs, with promising results in a few published studies, according to the investigators.