OLIGOSACCHARIDES DERIVED FROM RIBOSE-RIBITOL-PHOSPHATE, AND VACCINES CONTAINING THEM

摘要

The present invention relates to the field of medicine, in particular to the chemical synthesis of mixtures of oligosaccharides derived from ribose-ribit ol- phosphate which are used as active principle in vaccines for the prevention of infections caused by Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib), as well as to vaccines which comprise said mixture of oligosaccharides. The mixtures of oligosaccharides which have been obtained by chemical synthesis comprise repetitive units having the formula (phosphate-ribose-ribitol)n or (ribose- ribitol-phosphate)n of at least five compounds having structure A or B which represent the repetitive unit of the capsular polysaccharide of Haemophilus influenzae type b and differ only by n, n being higher than or equal to 4 an d smaller than or equal to 25, and wherein R1 or R2 is a spacer for the conjugation to a carrier with the condition that R1 = spacer if R2 the = H, or R2 = spacer if R1 = H: (A), (B). The invention also relates to immunogens which contain said oligosaccharide mixtures, to vaccines which contain said immunogens and to methods for preparing said oligosaccharides in the form of mixtures. Furthermore, the invention relates to the use of the vaccines eith er separately or combined to other vaccines for the prevention of infections caused by Haemophilusinfluenzae type b.