UTI Vaccine
Still off-license and undergoing research, more and more studies have shown that recurrent UTIs can be effectively treated with UTI vaccines where other methods of mainstream management are no longer working.
UTI Vaccines
A potential alternative to antibiotics for UTIs could be a UTI vaccine. These vaccines work by training the immune system to fight off infections, which might mean needing fewer antibiotics. However, it’s important to know that in the UK, UTI vaccines aren’t currently licensed for routine use.
Patients with recurrent UTIs often rely on repeated and prolonged courses of antibiotics. This is particularly true in prostatitis where current international guidelines recommend 2-4 weeks of antibiotic treatment.
However, with the alarming rise of antibiotic resistance, described as one of the biggest risks to global health in our lifetime, and with the World Health Organisation triggering a Global Action Plan to combat antibiotic resistance, there is a pressing need to find viable alternatives.
Recently the use of vaccine / immunostimulation in patients with recurrent infections has become more popular. The science behind this won a Nobel Prize for medicine in 2010.
Various types of UTI vaccines are currently being developed for treating recurrent UTIs, including ones that can be swallowed, injected, applied to the vagina and sprayed under the tongue (sub-lingual). All work by boosting the body’s natural immune system to fight off a UTI before it can take hold.
The sub-lingual UTI vaccine is composed of the inactivated whole bacteria of the four most common bugs that cause UTIs in men and women (Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Proteus vulgaris and Enterococcus Faecalis).
Rather than being injected, it is administered daily over three months via a pineapple flavoured spray. A couple of sprays under the tongue each day is all that is required.
Once administered it interacts with the immune system, resulting in long term protection from UTIs in the patient.
At the forefront of UTI vaccine trials in the UK
We are proud to have presented and published our work on UTI vaccines nationally and internationally. This includes the first experience in the United Kingdom of the sublingual UTI vaccine in initial groups of both men and women with recurrent UTIs who had not responded to standard treatments, including antibiotic prophylaxis.
In Reading, we conducted the first prospective study and randomised controlled trial using vaccines for UTIs. The vaccine was used off-licence for several patients on a named-patient basis and the results of our studies were published in British Journal of Urology and the New England Journal of Medicine.
Initial research data suggested a 70-80% reduction in infections in a one-year period for patients who have tried all other treatments, which looks very promising.
Our conclusions from these preliminary results, suggest UTI vaccines are both effective and safe in UK men and women with recurrent UTIs, and may offer a potentially viable alternative to antibiotics.
Recent research further strengthens the evidence for the clinical effectiveness and safety of UTI vaccination in reducing the incidence and preventing recurrence of UTIs.
Our latest nine-year analysis demonstrated a very good safety profile and was presented at the largest urological conference in Europe.
Recent news on UTI vaccine.
Oxford University https://ibme.ox.ac.uk/2024/04/22/oral-vaccine-for-recurrent-utis-could-be-a-game-changer-alternative-to-antibiotics-new-study-suggests/
Nature Magazine https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-01322-y
Medscape https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/vaccine-development-against-uti-2024a10008ed?form=fpf
Telegraph wellbeing https://www.telegraph.co.uk/health-fitness/wellbeing/sex/uti-vaccine-mv140-immunotek/
The Independent https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/uti-infection-vaccine-treatment-antibiotics-b2524692.html
Daily Mail https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-13280067/vaccine-uti-nine-years-briton-nhs.html
Reading Chronicle https://www.readingchronicle.co.uk/news/24236940.royal-berkshire-hospital-promising-results-oral-uti-vaccine-study/
The Sun https://www.thesun.co.uk/health/27179458/new-vaccine-uti-nine-years-mv140/
UTI Vaccine FAQs
UTI Vaccines are still unlicensed in the UK and depending on the type, are only available privately on a Named Patient Basis or as part of a clinical trial.
The regulatory process for medicines in the UK is both robust and thorough. Whilst we cannot predict how long this process will take, we will continue to provide the manufacturers and their UK partners the clinical evidence in our research to facilitate the application and we hope to bring this treatment to all patients in the NHS in the future.
No, as these products are still unlicensed, you will not be able to purchase UTI vaccines from any pharmacy in the UK.
Next Steps
Our UTI Vaccine Specialists
Get fast access to leading specialists for the swift diagnosis and treatment of urological conditions in a private clinic environment.
If you would like more information or wish to arrange a consultation with one of our specialist consultant urological surgeons then please either Call 0118 920 7040 or complete the form below.
Insured patients
Contact your GP and ask for a referral to the Urology Partnership.
All consultations, investigations and treatments are covered by major insurance companies (depending on policy).
Funding your own treatment
Self-funding initial consultation fee is £205. Follow up fees are £165.
Consultation charges are exclusive of any tests and other investigations that the consultant may wish to carry out.