While You Were Opening Presents, Scientists Were Injecting People With A Herpes Vaccine
Good news for Katie Holmes!!
Scientists in Germany are conducting Herpes vaccine trials for genital and oral herpes.
Game. Changer.
BioNTech: announced that the first subject was dosed in a first-in-human Phase 1 clinical research study with BNT163, a herpes simplex virus (HSV) vaccine candidate for the prevention of genital lesions caused by HSV-2 and potentially HSV-1. The trial (NCT05432583) will evaluate the safety, tolerability, and immunogenicity of BNT163. The mRNA vaccine encodes three HSV-2 glycoproteins with the aim of helping to prevent HSV cellular entry and spread, as well as counteract the immunosuppressive properties of HSVs.
According to the World Health Organization (“WHO”), approximately 500 million people globally are estimated to be affected by genital infections caused by HSV-2,1 with painful genital lesions, an increased risk for meningitis and high levels of emotional distress. Once acquired, HSV persists lifelong in the body with reoccurring symptomatic outbreaks. Moreover, HSV-2 infection increases the risk of acquiring HIV infections by approximately three-fold, and co-infections with both HIV and HSV-2 increase the likelihood of transmitting HIV to others according to the WHO.2 No vaccine has been approved for prevention of genital lesions caused by HSV to date. Currently available HSV therapies only reduce the severity and frequency of symptoms.
BioNTech’s placebo-controlled, observer blinded, dose-escalation Phase 1 trial is expected to enroll around 100 healthy volunteers aged 18 to 55 years without current or history of symptomatic genital herpes infections in the U.S. The study consists of a first dose escalation part that will focus on safety evaluations and assess the optimal dose-response in various dose levels. The second part of the trial is designed to expand the safety characterization for the selected dosing of BNT163 for a more comprehensive assessment of the impact of pre-existing immunity to HSV-1 and -2 on the safety and BNT163-induced immune responses.
“This program is part of our strategy to help address diseases with a high unmet medical need and of global health relevance by combining our new technologies such as mRNA and our expertise in immune engineering,” said Prof. Özlem Türeci, M.D., Chief Medical Officer and Co-Founder of BioNTech. “BNT163 is based on three non-infectious mRNA-encoded HSV-2 glycoproteins. We aim to induce a broad immune response which is directed against multiple antigens of the virus and mobilizes various immune effectors to support virus neutralization and clearance.”
“HSV-2 is a very challenging and life-altering disease which can only be partially prevented. My colleagues and I are proud to have contributed to the early development and preclinical testing of this exciting new mRNA vaccine candidate that may have the potential to prevent people from contracting the virus,” said Prof. Harvey M. Friedman, M.D., Professor of Infectious Diseases at the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine, who conducted preclinical and discovery science work on HSV and is the University of Pennsylvania’s principal investigator for the preclinical discovery and IND-enabling studies.
HOOORAAAYYY! A time when bad decisions don’t live on your face or genitals could be here, guys and gals. I never thought I’d live to see it.
Five hundred million people KNOW they have oral/genital herpes. About a billion more are undiagnosed, walking around, waiting to give it to you and me, so this new herpes clinical trial could be a God Send for those of YOU with the herp.
One thing I’ll miss? People who cover up cold sores like we won’t notice.
We notice. And we try not to talk about you, but we do, especially when you bring it up like it’s something everyone has.
Depending on how good of friends we are, I’ll tell you you got herpes from loving an unclean person, drinking out of the wrong glass, or maybe even stress.
Can you imagine an anti-vaxxer with herpes reading about the herpes vaccine? Protect yourself from pesky genital lesions, OR live in pain and embarrassment to own the libs? What a conundrum!
Decisions, decisions.
DB
Dean Blundell
Dean Blundell is a Canadian radio personality. Best known as a longtime morning host on CFNY-FM (The Edge) in Toronto, Ontario. In 2015 he was named the new morning host on sports radio station CJCL (Sportsnet 590 The Fan). Dean started his career in radio in 2001 and for nearly 20 years been entertaining the radio audience. Dean’s newest venture is the launch of his site and podcast which is gaining tremendous momentum across North America.
