November 20, 2023

In a recent meeting, the Texas Children’s Board of Trustees honored Dr. Peter J. Hotez with a resolution for his extraordinary leadership, distinguished service and scientific contributions to vaccine development and global health.

Dr. Hotez, co-director of the Texas Children’s Hospital Center of Vaccine Development (CVD) and professor and dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, is an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine and American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the author of several books.

“It is an honor to witness Dr. Hotez continue to be an extraordinary force in our global fight against COVID-19,” said C. Park Shaper, Chair of the Board of Trustees. “With 120 million doses administered globally, the low-cost, patent-free vaccine developed by Dr. Hotez and his team has protected millions of vulnerable children and adults, and significantly reduced the spread of this devastating virus in many underserved parts of the world.”

In addition to a Nobel Peace Prize nomination in 2022, Hotez also received the AMA’s Scientific Achievement Award. This year he received the AAAS Scientific Freedom and Responsibility Award for promoting vaccines and combating vaccine misinformation, as well as the inaugural IDSA Anthony Fauci Courage in Leadership Award.

“Since he arrived in 2011, Dr. Hotez’s unique expertise, preeminent talents and tremendous commitment to our mission have truly impacted the growth of Texas Children’s,” said President and CEO Mark A. Wallace. “Dr. Hotez has selflessly dedicated his life’s work to creating a world where every person has seamless access to safe and effective vaccines, and he continues to be an inspiration to all who know him.”

Even in the decades before COVID-19, Dr. Hotez served as a leading voice in vaccine advocacy, policies and legislation. “Texas Children’s, Baylor College of Medicine, the Texas Medical Center, and our surrounding communities are immensely proud and incredibly blessed to have a brilliant and committed scientist, physician and researcher such as Dr. Hotez in our epicenter,” said Pediatrician-in-Chief Dr. Lara Shekerdemian.

The difference is life changing at Texas Children’s, and Dr. Hotez is living proof of how we deliver the impossible for the benefit of the world by doing things differently and unapologetically. Join us in congratulating him on this incredible honor!

January 2, 2022

 

Texas Children’s and Baylor College of Medicine announced on December 28, that CORBEVAX, a protein sub-unit COVID-19 Vaccine, whose technology was created and engineered at its Center for Vaccine Development (CVD), has received Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) approval from the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) to launch first in India, with other underserved countries to follow.

Commenting on this historic news for Texas Children’s, Mark Wallace said, “I cannot begin to express how monumental this is for Texas Children’s, Dr. Peter Hotez, Dr. Maria Elena Bottazzi and their teams – but even more so, how monumental this is for the entire world. In the U.S., we have had access to the COVID-19 vaccine for a year – but around the globe, many countries are desperately waiting for the tool they need to overcome the pandemic, and the emergence of the Omicron variant emphasizes this dire need.”

Large-scale, fast and low-cost production

Dubbed “The World’s COVID-19 Vaccine,” CORBEVAX uses a traditional recombinant protein-based technology that will enable its production at large scales making it widely accessible to inoculate the global population. Because the vaccine uses a conventional production platform that has been in use for decades, it can be easily and quickly produced in existing manufacturing facilities around the world at a very low cost. The two-dose vaccine also relies on standard refrigeration storage conditions, making delivery of massive quantities of this vaccine to remote, rural populations possible.

More about the vaccine development and testing

The initial construct and production process of the vaccine antigen was developed at Texas Children’s Hospital CVD, led by co-directors Drs. Maria Elena Bottazzi and Peter Hotez and in-licensed from BCM Ventures, Baylor College of Medicine’s integrated commercialization team, to Hyderabad-based vaccine and pharmaceutical company Biological E. Limited (BE). After completing two Phase III clinical trials involving more than 3000 subjects, CORBEVAX was found to be safe, well tolerated and immunogenic.

“This announcement is an important first step in vaccinating the world and halting the pandemic. Our vaccine technology offers a path to address an unfolding humanitarian crisis, namely the vulnerability the low- and middle-income countries face against the delta variant,” said Dr. Peter Hotez, Professor and Dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor and Co-Director of the Texas Children’s Hospital Center for Vaccine Development. “Widespread and global vaccination with our Texas Children’s-Baylor-BE vaccine would also forestall the emergence of new variants. We have previously missed that opportunity for the alpha and delta variant. Now is our chance to prevent a new global wave from what might follow.”

Keep an eye on the national news as this exciting announcement is shared with the world.

January 30, 2018

Texas Children’s Hospital recently received a $1.9 million grant from The Robert J. Kleberg Jr. and Helen C. Kleberg Foundation to support Texas Children’s Hospital Center for Vaccine Development (CVD), advancing the efforts to develop a vaccine against Chagas disease.

Chagas is a tropical disease caused by a parasite transmitted to people and animals through insects. The most impacted people are in the poorer areas of Latin America, and the Americas, including Texas. Texas Children’s Hospital and Baylor College of Medicine are working together to find ways to eliminate this disease.

“Because of its link to poverty, new interventions for Chagas disease are not generally of great interest to the industry, so it falls to organizations like our Texas Children’s Center for Vaccine Development to take the lead on developing a vaccine,” said Dr. Peter Hotez, director of the CVD.

Hotez is a distinguished physician with a passion for tropical medicine. He took on this project alongside CVD Deputy Director Dr. Maria Elena Bottazzi to insure that quality research and solid outcomes are developed when it comes to neglected tropical diseases.

“To tackle Chagas disease, the evaluation of novel and innovative technologies is an essential step. The support from the Kleberg Foundation will be transformational and will allow to accelerate the development of important control tools against this devastating disease,” Bottazzi said.

The Robert J. Kleberg Jr. and Helen C. Kleberg Foundation awards grants to institutions that further the vision of the Klebergs, such as improving quality of life through community support, innovation and scientific research.

“We are extremely grateful for our Kleberg Foundation funding, which will allow us to harness the innovative capacity of the Texas Medical Center in order to apply it towards the first vaccine for this devastating condition,” Hotez said.

The first steps have been taken in the vaccine development process, and the CVD hopes to advance the first vaccine candidate to final manufacture and clinical testing within the next few years.