Still Searching For Herpes Vaccines

As 2022 comes to a close, searches for a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) herpes vaccine peaked in December.

According to PrecisionVaccination.com analyses, more website visitors sought the latest herpes vaccine news than any other disease, including COVID-19.

Unfortunately, most searchers were disappointed to learn that herpes vaccine development efforts continue in early-stage clinical trials.

However, there is optimism heading into 2023.

BioNTech SE recently announced its mRNA-based BNT163 herpes simplex virus vaccine candidate is currently under development to prevent genital lesions caused by Herpes Simplex Virus-2.

Announced on December 21, 2022, BioNTech's Phase 1 clinical trial is expected to enroll around 100 healthy adult volunteers without current or history of symptomatic genital herpes infections.

The U.S.-based study consists of a first dose escalation part focusing on safety evaluations and assessing the optimal dose-response.

The trial's second part is designed to expand the safety characterization for the selected dosing of BNT163 for a more comprehensive assessment of the impact of pre-existing herpes virus immunity on BNT163 vaccine-induced immune responses.

The World Health Organization says vaccines against sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are a significant priority.

The development of new STI vaccines is critical because of the many infections worldwide, the resulting adverse sexual, reproductive, and maternal-child health outcomes, and the known limitations of existing STI interventions.

Other herpes vaccine candidate news is posted at PrecisionVaccinations.com/Herpes.