Zika Fever

The lack of an adequate vaccine or antiviral medicine for Zika fever highlights the attention and investment needed in this area of Zika. Harnessing our proficiency and resources, our company is steadfast in driving substantial advancements in the fight against Zika fever through pioneering vaccine and therapeutic development strategies.

Overview of Zika Fever

Zika is an arboviral disease caused by Zika virus (ZIKV) which is a member of the Flaviviridae family. It was first identified in 1947 in Zika Forest from rhesus monkeys and was later found in Aedes mosquitoes. The main vectors of ZIKV are Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus ZIKV. which are widely distributed in tropical and subtropical parts of the world. Zika fever presents itself with signs and symptoms such as fever, rash, conjunctivitis, muscle and joint, pain and head ache. Most cases of Zika fever remain asymptomatic, nevertheless, the virus is known to cause severe neurological illnesses including microcephaly if contracted during pregnancy.

Fig.1 ZIKV infection of various human tissues. (Gorshkov K., et al., 2019)

Vaccine Development for Zika Fever

• Inactivated Vaccines: Inactivated vaccines are created by using killed or otherwise inactive viruses. These types of vaccines do not provoke an illness yet can evoke a favorable immune response.
• Subunit and DNA Vaccines: Subunit vaccines rely on certain viral proteins to trigger an immune response while DNA vaccines consist of the insertion of DNA sequences for viral proteins directly into host cells.
• Live-Attenuated Vaccines: Live-attenuated vaccines are developed from a weakened viral strain that can reproduce but is unable to cause diseases.

Table 1 The pipeline of ZIKV vaccine progress. (Shan C., et al., 2018)

Therapeutics Development for Zika Fever

Antiviral Compounds

Antiviral compounds impact particular stages of the viral reproductive cycle. The nucleoside analogue sofosbuvir has been suggested as an antiviral agent against ZIKV because of its ability to target and block the viral RNA polymerase. The natural product curcumin is another example of a compound that has shown in vitro anti-ZIKV activity.

Drug Repurposing

Drug repositioning is the process of assessing marketed medicines for novel uses and applications. Emricasan, a caspase pathway inhibitor, has been shown to prevent cell death caused by ZIKV. The malaria therapeutic chloroquine has also shown in vitro antiviral effect against ZIKV.

Natural Products and Synthetic Compounds

Natural compounds like EGCG derived from green tea have been shown to inhibit the entry of ZIKV. Some synthetic compounds, including 25-Hydroxycholesterol, have also been effective in blocking ZIKV internalization.

Our Services

Leveraging cutting-edge technologies and expertise, our company provides comprehensive services for the development of Zika fever vaccines and therapeutics, aiming to expedite the discovery and creation of safe and efficacious solutions.

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

• ZIKV Infection Immunodeficient Mouse Models
• ZIKV Infection Neonatal Mouse Models
• ZIKV Infection Pregnant Mouse Models
• ZIKV Infection Non-Human Primate Models

Our company offers comprehensive preclinical research services tailored to Zika fever vaccine and therapeutic development. Our services include:

• In Vitro Studies: Utilizing various cell lines to assess the antiviral activity of candidate compounds and their mechanisms of action.
• In Vivo Studies: Conducting animal studies to evaluate the safety and immunogenicity of vaccine candidates, as well as the efficacy of antiviral therapies.
• Pharmacokinetics and Toxicology: Analyzing the pharmacokinetics of drug candidates and assessing their safety profiles to inform clinical development strategies.

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.