Innovative approaches to herpes simplex virus (HSV) vaccine and therapy development continue to be a crucial focus of the infectious disease sector. Our company is at the forefront of these efforts, offering a comprehensive suite of services to support the advancement of new vaccines and therapeutics.
Introduction to Herpes Simplex
Herpes simplex virus (HSV) an enveloped double-stranded DNA virus belonging to the Herpesviridae family is classified into two subtypes; HSV -1 which is commonly known for causing oral herpes and HSV -2 which causes genital herpes. These viruses have the ability to enter a muscle's nervous system, become dormant, and persistently remain in the body. HSV -1 primarily targets Sacral ganglia while HSV -2 focuses on targeting the trigeminal ganglia. When the tongue or lips become infected a lesion will arise, these lesions can reappear entirely disrupting one's lifestyle both personally and socially. It has been noted by epidemiological studies that a majority of the worlds population is infected with HSV especially sexually active adults being common target for HSV -2.
Fig.1 The structure of the herpes simplex virus (HSV) virion. (Zhu S., et al., 2021)
Vaccine Development for Herpes Simplex
Developers of an HSV vaccine have been advancing their research over the course of several decades, and there have been numerous investigational candidates. A decisive element from the therapeutic vaccine development perspective is greater insight in the field of immunotherapy and advancements in genetic engineering. An impressive case is the therapeutic vaccine GEN-003 directed against HSV-2, which is reported to reduce lesions and viral shedding during Phase 2 clinical trials. This vaccine is an attempt to unleash a reasonably good T-cell response which is vital for preventing the reactivation of the virus.
The HerpV vaccine is another potential candidate that appears to be safe and immunogenic in the preclinical setting. This vaccine is intended to increase the immune response against HSV-2 by making use of certain viral antigens. These case reports illustrate the scope of therapeutic vaccines to not only improve the existing condition but also the rates of transmission in the target population.
Table 1 Vaccine Candidates of herpes simplex virus (HSV). (Johnston C., et al., 2016)
| Candidate name/identifier |
Pharmaceutical developer |
Platform/antigens |
Status |
| GEN-003 |
Genocea |
Subunit vaccine: gD2/ICP4 with Matrix M2 adjuvant |
Phase II |
| HerpV |
Agenus |
32 35-mer peptides, complexed with HSP, QS-21 adjuvant |
Phase II |
| Codon optimized polynucleotide vaccine |
Admedus |
DNA vaccine: gD2 codon optimized/ubiquitin-tagged |
Phase II |
| VCL-HB01/HM01 |
Vical |
DNA vaccine: gD2+/−UL46/Vaxfectin |
Phase II |
| HSV529 |
Sanofi |
Replication-defective HSV-2 with deletions of UL5 and UL29 |
Phase I |
| gD2/gC2/gE2 |
- |
Subunit vaccine: gD2/gC2/gE2 |
Pre-clinical |
| HSV-2 0ΔNLS |
- |
Live, attenuated replication-competent HSV-2 with deletion of ICP0 |
Pre-clinical |
| HF10 |
- |
Live, attenuated replication-competent HSV-1 mutated for UL43, UL49.5, UL55, UL56, LAT |
Pre-clinical |
| ΔgD2 |
- |
Live, attenuated HSV-2 deleted in gD2 |
Pre-clinical |
| AD472 |
- |
HSV-2 mutated for g34.5, UL43.5, UL55-56, US10, US11, US12 |
Pre-clinical |
| CJ2-gD2 |
- |
Non-replicating gD2 dominant neg HSV-2 |
Pre-clinical |
| Prime-pull strategy |
- |
"Prime" with live attenuated HSV-2 followed by "pull" with topical intravaginal CXCL9/CXCL10 chemokine |
Pre-clinical |
| Inactivated HSV-2 in MPL/alum |
- |
Formalin inactivated HSV-2 |
Pre-clinical |
| HSV-1 glycoprotein B lentiviral vector |
- |
Lentiviral vector expressing gB1 |
Pre-clinical |
| gB1s-NISV |
- |
Intranasal non-ionic surfactant vesicles containing recombinant HSV-1 gB |
Pre-clinical |
Therapeutics Development for Herpes Simplex
The therapeutics of HSV has concentrated on the use of nucleoside analogs which prevent viral proliferation. But the emergence of resistance and the demand of more usefulness standard drugs have result in searching for new classes of drugs.
Acyclovir, valacyclovir, and famciclovir are drugs that are routinely utilized for treating HSV, inhibiting viral DNA polymerase through thymidine kinase phosphorylation.
Helicase-Primase Inhibitors
This new class of drugs aims at the helicase-primase complex which is very crucial for the process of DNA synthesis. Amenamevir and pritelivir are examples of this class of drugs, and they promise to deliver maximum effect in controlling viral shedding as demonstrated in investigations.
Our Services
We take pride in being the leaders in the field of Herpes Simplex vaccine and therapy development services. Our team put a lot of effort into coming up with truly exceptional answers to the issue of combating HSV virus. Additionally, we provide vaccine formulation and preclinical testing services, among many more.
Preclinical Research
- Pharmacodynamics Study Services
- Pharmacokinetics Study Services
- Drug Safety Evaluation Services
Disease Models
- Ocular HSV-1 Infection Models
- Oral HSV-1 Infection Models
- Intranasal HSV-1 and HSV-2 Infection Models
- Cutaneous and Subcutaneous HSV-1 Infection Models
- Central nervous system (CNS) Infection Models
- Animal Species: Mouse, Guinea Pig, Rabbit, Cotton Rats, Tree Shrews, and Zebrafish
Our facilities are equipped with state-of-the-art technology for vaccine candidate evaluation, including immunogenicity assays and in vivo models. This enables us to assess the efficacy and safety of novel vaccine candidates under controlled conditions before advancing to clinical studies. If you are interested in our services, please feel free to contact us.
References
- Zhu, Shuyong, and Abel Viejo-Borbolla. "Pathogenesis and virulence of herpes simplex virus." Virulence 12.1 (2021): 2670-2702.
- Johnston, Christine, Sami L. Gottlieb, and Anna Wald. "Status of vaccine research and development of vaccines for herpes simplex virus." Vaccine 34.26 (2016): 2948-2952.
- Birkmann, Alexander, and Holger Zimmermann. "HSV antivirals–current and future treatment options." Current opinion in virology 18 (2016): 9-13.
All of our services and products are intended for preclinical research use
only and cannot be used to diagnose, treat or manage patients.
