Herpes Vaccine Shows Promise

If overseas clinical trials go well, vaccines to treat and prevent genital herpes may be ready for clinical trials in the United States in 3-5 years, according to an article in The State Journal-Register.

Developed by Rational Vaccines, the Theravax and Profavax vaccines are made from live attenuated herpes viruses. Theravax aims to retrain the immune system in people with herpes simplex virus (HSV) to better control the virus and reduce symptoms. Profavax is designed to offer immunity against HSV-1 or HSV-2.

In a small overseas clinical trial last year in the dual-island Caribbean nation of Saint Kitts and Nevis, 17 patients who received the 3-shot Theravax series reported a 3-fold reduction in the number of symptomatic days, according to the article.

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Richard Mancuso, who lives in Brick, NJ, participated in the trial (July 3, 2017) and told The State Journal-Register the Theravax vaccine brought about a dramatic drop in his herpes symptoms, which eventually went away entirely.

“It’s important for people to know that there’s something that works,” said Mr. Mancuso in the article.

Another trial is planned for Saint Kitts and Nevis in November and will involve about 40 patients, the newspaper reported. The company is planning a Profavax trial in Australia for 2018. That investigation will also involve about 40 patients.

Rational Vaccines is hoping the unusual strategy of conducting clinical trials overseas will result in a speedier clinical trials process in the United States, according to the article. Mr. Mancuso started an online Change.org petition asking Congress to shorter the timetable for clinical trials of the HSV vaccines.

“If the future clinical trials hold up,” said Donald Torry, PhD, chairman of the department of medical microbiology, immunology, and cell biology at Southern Illinois University, in the article, “this will affect millions.”

Dr. Torry was a friend and colleague of Rational Vaccines chief science officer William Halford, PhD, a researcher at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine who developed the vaccines. Dr. Halford died from sinonasal undifferentiated carcinoma in June.

—Jolynn Tumolo