Japanese Encephalitis

Japanese encephalitis (JE) results from an infection with a mosquito-borne virus known as the Japanese encephalitis Virus (JEV). Through our comprehensive service offerings, we are committed to advancing the scientific understanding of JEV and to bringing new solutions to the market.

Overview of Japanese Encephalitis

Japanese encephalitis (JE) can be defined as a viral disease that is caused by the Japanese Virus Encephalitis. Type Culex mosquitoes are the carriers of JEV primarily, but pigs, perching and wading birds are also integral to the transmission cycle. Japan Encephalitis is more prevalent in Asia and the Western Pacific Regions where it is endemic and 68,000 cases are reported every single year. Considering the degree of underreporting, the real estimates can reach approximately 175, 000 cases every year. Focusing on its JE clinical presentation, the condition has a wide range, flu like symptoms tend to mild, whereas some instances exhibit encephalitis which has a thirty percent chance of being fatal.

Fig.1 Transmission cycle of Japanese encephalitis virus. (Mulvey P., et al., 2021)

Vaccine Development for Japanese Encephalitis

The JE vaccine development strategy has played a crucial role in reducing the negative effects of the disease. While initial vaccinations made use of isolates from the brains of mice, these have now been replaced with safer and more effective vaccines from cell culture sources. At present, the most available and the most used vaccine is the live attenuated SA14-14-2 strain which has been shown to be effective in producing long lasting immune responses.

Table 1 Vaccines against Japanese encephalitis. (Turtle L., et al., 2018)

Therapeutics Development for Japanese Encephalitis

Antiviral Agents

Antiviral agents with view to development and potentials have been studied against JEV. Other than studies of ribavirin and favipiravir, which decreased viral loads in cell cultures and animal models, no other compounds have received approval. Efforts to develop effective therapeutics will rest in these agents too.

Monoclonal Antibodies

Monoclonal antibodies against JEV variants are an innovative field. Such modalities can be utilized as immunoprophylactic agents in high-risk populations and during outbreaks. These are still at preclinical stages, but the results so far indicate that monoclonal antibodies can neutralize the virus with great efficacy, thereby enabling the use of monoclonal antibodies in clinical practice in the future.

Our Services

Our range of services is directed at accelerating the development of new and improved JE vaccines. This includes using modern cell culture techniques, applying genetic modifications in recombinant vaccine development and evaluating vaccine candidates using animal models.

Beyond vaccine development, our focus extends to the exploration and creation of new therapeutics for JE. This involves pinpointing potential drug contenders, scrutinizing their antiviral capabilities in vitro, and moving forward with promising agents into preclinical trials.

Vaccine Development

• Live-attenuated Vaccine
• Inactivated Vaccine
• Toxoid Vaccine
• Viral Vector Vaccine
• Virus-like Particles Vaccine
• Protein Subunit Vaccine
• mRNA Vaccine
• DNA Vaccine

Therapeutic Development

• Small Molecule Drug Development Services
• Therapeutic mRNA Development Services
• Therapeutic Antibody Development Services
• Cell Therapy Development Services

Disease Models

• Mouse Models of JEV Infection (General)
• Mouse-Adapted JEV Strains Infection Models
• Intraperitoneal (IP) Inoculation Models
• Intracerebral (IC) Inoculation Models

Preclinical research is a critical phase in the development of effective vaccines and therapies. At our company, we offer specialized preclinical research services tailored to Japanese Encephalitis. If you are interested in our services, please feel free to contact us.

All of our services and products are intended for preclinical research use only and cannot be used to diagnose, treat or manage patients.