A Plant-Made Vaccine for the Prevention of Herpes Simplex Virus (HSV)
Abstract
Herpes simplex virus (HSV) is a mucosal and sexually transmitted disease that infects over four billion people. HSV can cause numerous diseases including cold sores, genital herpes, meningitis, and other skin and brain-related illnesses. It is the leading cause of infectious blindness and causes a life-threatening disease called herpes simplex encephalitis (HSE). HSE has a 70% mortality rate without treatment and between 20%-30% with antiviral treatments. Repeated reactivation of HSV is also linked to the development of Alzheimer s disease. The limited number of treatments for these diseases are not effective, and there is no approved vaccine against HSV. As HSV is one of most common sexually transmitted disease among active-duty Service Members, it is important to create a low-cost, effective vaccine that can be deployed to active military personnel, their families, and at-risk populations. VaxSyna, Inc., proposes to further develop a plant-made HSV vaccine under the Portfolio Category of Infectious Diseases, Topic Area Plant-Based Vaccines, and Strategic Goal Develop or optimize vaccine strategies, platforms, or compounds…. VaxSyna s HSV candidate vaccine uses their two-part vaccine technology that has previously proven successful in mice against multiple other viral diseases. Our vaccine technology has multiple advantages including: (1) high effectiveness, (2) low cost to make (estimated at less than $0.5/dose), (3) quick to produce without risk of contamination, and (4) thermally stable. For this project, we propose to further test our HSV vaccine in four aims. Aim 1: Vaccine efficacy to protect against HSE in mice. Aim 2: Vaccine efficacy to prevent HSV-caused sores in guinea pigs. Aim 3: Optimal route of vaccine delivery. Aim 4: Safety profiles. Completion of these aims will indicate that our vaccine is effective at preventing HSV diseases in animal models and allow VaxSyna to take the next steps to make an HSV vaccine for the military and at-risk populations.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Jan 04, 2024
- Source ID
- HT94252310708
Entities
People
- Mary Pardhe
Organizations
- United States Army