Crohn's MAP Vaccine Heroes

We are a group of people who have Crohn's or with loved ones who have Crohn's who want to raise funds to support human clinical trials of a Crohn's disease vaccine developed by Prof. John Hermon-Taylor

Mission

Our mission is to find a cure for Crohn's disease. We believe the best hope for that cure lies in the Vaccine and new diagnostic test originally developed by Prof. John Hermon-Taylor. Following his retirement in 2021 due to ill health, this work is now led by his longstanding colleague Prof Jeremy Sanderson.

Prof Hermon-Taylor's relentless efforts to help Crohn's disease throughout his career led him to investigate a bacterium called Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis (MAP) as a cause of the disease. MAP is known to cause a similar chronic bowel disease in cattle. The scientific evidence suggests it can also play an important role in the development of Crohn's disease in humans. The MAP vaccine is a therapeutic vaccine, designed to stimulate the body's own immune system to selectively eliminate MAP-infected cells. It is hoped that elimination of MAP will remove a key driver of inflammation, allowing the gut to heal.

Alongside the vaccine, Prof Hermon-Taylor developed a new diagnostic test which allows MAP to be visualised in human tissues and blood for the first time. Historically MAP has been very difficult to test for. In addition, simply proving that a bacterium is present by the detection of its DNA doesn't tell you whether it is causing disease. The new test allows researchers to see how the bacteria interact with cells of the gut and immune system, shedding light on how it may be causing disease. Final 'validation studies' are underway to show that the test is accurate.

Visit crohnsmapvaccine.com for more info.

Description  

YOUR VACCINE NEEDS YOU!

Thanks to your support, the vaccine trial in people with Crohn's disease was launched in May 2021 and work on the MAP test is in its final phase. Details of the trial can be found here:

https://www.isrctn.com/ISRCTN36126048

We are aiming to raise further funds to support the laboratory at Kings College London during the trial, as well as continuing to investigate the wider role of MAP in human disease

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