Source: Al Arabiya News (published 11 May 2014) and The Washington Post, Steven Overly (published 12 May 2014). The biotechnology firm Novavax (Gaithersburg, USA) and researchers of the University of Maryland School of Medicine have reportedly created an experimental vaccine against the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS).

According to the study recently published in the April 13 issue of the medical journal Vaccine, researchers from the company and the university published data showing they were able to block infection in laboratory tests.

It is based on a platform for a vaccine candidate that is said to protect against Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, or SARS; both MERS and SARS are coronaviruses. “You’re blocking the attachment of the antibody to the human cell,” said Dr. Gregory Glenn, the senior vice president of research and development at Novavax. “When you have an immune response to the virus, the virus is destroyed.”

The vaccine is still considered highly experimental and would need additional safety and efficacy tests before it could be used in humans. But researchers contend their findings are a promising development for health officials. “We’ve been talking with a lot of different people who are interested in what’s going on here. No decision has been made about going forward,” said Greg Glenn, senior vice president of research and development at Novavax.

Matthew Frieman at the University of Maryland School of Medicine said additional development of the vaccine may depend on whether MERS cases continue to crop up. “If it continues to rise as it has been, this type of vaccine, even though it’s experimental, may be fast-tracked all the way,” Frieman said.

Symptoms of the virus include fever, cough and shortness of breath, according to the CDC. About 30 percent of those with the illness die from it.