Acne Vaccine Ready for Human Tests

Acne is the most common skin condition in the United States, affecting 50 million people annually.

But a cure for acne could be on the horizon, if clinical trials of a new vaccine prove to be successful.

Eric Huang, PhD, a professor at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) has developed an acne vaccine that may cure the disease.

Huang has been researching the vaccine for five years and believes it is now ready to go into human clinical trials.

He further explained that an overgrowth of P.acnes bacteria inside an acne lesion can cause inflammation when the bacterium releases a toxin called Christie-Atkins-Munch-Peterson (CAMP) factor.

This bacteria is what causes acne.

But because of antigen masking, the human body cannot neutralize the toxin by itself.

Huang said, "This vaccine neutralizes the CAMP factor, which everybody has."

Huang developed two types of vaccines, a preventative vaccine and a therapeutic version.

“The preventative vaccine will be injected into patients at elementary school age,” Huang said.

"The therapeutic antibodies can topically apply onto the acne lesions directly to treat inflammatory acne lesion in patients who have already developed acne."

According to the American Academy of Dermatology, Acne is a chronic inflammatory skin condition, and is characterized by blackheads, whiteheads, pimples and deeper lumps (cysts or nodules) that occur on the face, neck, chest, back, shoulders and upper arms.

Approximately 85 percent of people between the ages of 12 and 24 experience minor acne.

Moreover, the costs associated with the treatment of acne exceed $3 billion annually.