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While the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not approved an Alzheimer's disease (AD) vaccine, there is progress in developing monoclonal antibody therapies.

For example, Eli Lilly and Company presented on March 31, 2023, an Interim Analysis from a Phase 1 Study of Remternetug, an IgG1 monoclonal antibody directed at the pyroglutamate modification of the third amino acid of amyloid-beta peptide that is present only in brain amyloid plaques.

Lilly stated Remternetug demonstrated rapid and robust amyloid plaque reduction in participants with AD.

Furthermore, to determine the safety, tolerability, and pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic data, Lilly is conducting a phase 3 trial (NCT05463731).

Separately, Lilly's donanemab is conducting a Phase 3 clinical trial.

Other Alzheimer's vaccine and antibody development news is posted at PrecisionVaccinations.com/Alz.

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Resistance to Paxlovid™ is already evident among viral SARS-CoV-2 variants currently circulating globally, indicating that this stand-alone antiviral, known as a protease inhibitor, could soon become less effective in treating COVID-19 patients.

Published on March 29, 2023, this study's conclusion was presented in the peer-reviewed journal Science Advances.

To lower the risk of resistance, the researchers say protease inhibitors must be carefully designed to avoid simple resistance mutations. 

These researchers wrote that these results encourage the monitoring of resistance variants and the development of additional protease inhibitors and other antiviral drugs with different mechanisms of action and resistance profiles for combinatorial therapy.

"Despite Paxlovid's proven success in blunting COVID-19 symptoms, the long-term consequences of its widespread use in speeding up resistance are unknown," commented S. Arad Moghadasi, co-author of the study and a University of Minnesota Medical School graduate student in a press release.

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The start-up company PathoVax LLC announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration had concluded that a Phase 1 clinical trial for its monovalent component- HPV16 RG1-VLP vaccine RGVax may proceed.

This first-in-human, global multicenter Phase 1 clinical study seeks to demonstrate RGVax's safety and immunogenicity responses to HPV16 RG1-VLP in healthy volunteers.

RGVax is a chimeric HPV virus-like particle platform that displays 360 copies of the highly conserved, neutralizing HPV epitope (RG1).

The foundational technology is based on research conducted at the Johns Hopkins University and Medical University Vienna.

Unlike existing HPV vaccines, the RGVax technology and formulation have been shown to provide comprehensive protection against at least 18 high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) types with immunogenicity lasting over a year without additional boosts in head-to-head studies with existing approved HPV vaccines.

"The world needs more, and particularly broad-based, HPV vaccines. We look forward to globally supporting these efforts in parallel and beyond this Phase 1, especially in Asia-Pacific and other developing countries, where there is a high burden of HPV diseases," said Dr. Kevin Koh, Chairman of PathoVax, in a press release on March 29, 2023.

A National Cancer Institute PREVENT contract funds the initiation of the Phase 1 study. 

As of March 31, 2023, there are various approved HPV vaccines and several vaccine candidates in development. 

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The peer-reviewed journal Science Advances recently disclosed researchers from Tel Aviv University and the Israel Institute for Biological Research developed the first mRNA-based, lipid nanoparticle (LNP) vaccine effective against a lethal bacteria.

Published on March 8, 2023, this study on mice demonstrated that all vaccinated animals were fully protected against the bacteria that causes the plague.

Humans usually get the plague after being bitten by a rodent flea that is carrying the plague bacterium, says the U.S. CDC.

The most common sign of bubonic plague is the rapid development of a swollen and painful lymph gland called a bubo.

Plague morbidity and mortality rates have substantially decreased since the introduction of antimicrobials.

However, the isolation of Y. pestis strains resistant to multiple therapeutic antibiotics and the concern of a natural or intentional disease outbreak initiated by antibiotic-resistant strains emphasize the need to develop vaccines against the plague.

The researchers wrote, "Our mRNA-LNP vaccine elicited humoral and cellular immunological responses in C57BL/6 mice and conferred rapid, full protection against lethal Y. pestis infection after a single dose."

This study's findings suggest there is a new way of developing vaccines for bacterial diseases, including diseases caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

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Zika virus infected infants 2023
RNA vaccination in rabbit mothers confers benefits to offspring in the womb
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Valneva SE announced today it would host a roundtable on Zika virus vaccines at the 23rd World Vaccine Congress in Washington, D.C.

On April 4, 2023, Valneva’s Chief Medical Officer, Juan Carlos Jaramillo, MD, will host a roundtable discussion on the opportunities and challenges of a Zika vaccine.

Valneva successfully developed an inactivated whole-virus Zika vaccine candidate VLA1601 through a Phase 1 clinical trial, which was last updated on July 5, 2019.

The company is evaluating re-entry into clinical development later in 2023 or 2024.

VLA1601 is a purified, inactivated, whole Zika virus vaccine candidate adsorbed on aluminum hydroxide.

As of March 30, 2023, no approved Zika vaccines are available in the U.S.

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Pritelivir (AIC316) Herpes Treatment 2023

Pritelivir (AIC316) Herpes Treatment June 2023

AiCuris Anti-infective Cures AG Pritelivir is a highly potent inhibitor of Herpes Simplex Virus (HSV) replication that belongs to a new chemical class and acts via a novel mechanism of action (inhibition of the viral helicase-primase enzyme complex), in contrast to currently used nucleoside analogues. The discovery of pritelivir resulted from systematic research rather than an accidental discovery. Pritelivir does not require activation by viral enzymes and can thus protect uninfected cells.

AiCuris develops Pritelivir oral tablets for the treatment of acyclovir-resistant mucocutaneous HSV infections. As an active ingredient in a new chemical class (thiazolylamides), pritelivir is active against both HSV (HSV-1 and HSV-2) types that cause genital or cold sores. In addition, Pritelivir is also effective against viruses resistant to commercially available drugs.

On December 20, 2016, The JAMA Network published an Original Investigation reporting a double-blind, randomized crossover phase 2 clinical study of 91 adults with recurrent genital herpes, the percentage of genital swabs with HSV detected over 28 days was significantly lower during the use of pritelivir than the use of valacyclovir (2.4% vs. 5.3%).

On March 1, 2023, an Original Article reviewed - First-in-Human, Single- and Multiple-Ascending-Dose, Food-Effect, and Absolute Bioavailability Clinical Trials to Assess the Pharmacokinetics, Safety, and Tolerability of Pritelivir, a Nonnucleoside Helicase-Primase Inhibitor Against Herpes Simplex Virus in Healthy Subjects. This sponsored study concluded: Considering a therapeutic dose of 100 mg once daily, pritelivir demonstrated a favorable safety, tolerability, and pharmacokinetic profile in healthy subjects to support further development.

A phase 3 trial in immunocompromised patients is ongoing. The last Update was Posted on March 24, 2023; the Estimated Primary Completion Date is June 2024. Pritelivir received the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Breakthrough Therapy Designation on June 5, 2020.

AiCuris is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company founded in 2006 in Wuppertal, Germany, as a spin-off from Bayer and focuses on the discovery and development of drugs targeting infectious diseases.

Herpes Testing 2023

Ulta Lab offers confidential herpes tests in June 2023.

Pritelivir Availability 2023

As of June 23, 2023, Pritelivir is unavailable as a marketed product. However, AiCuris supports expanded access requests for Pritelivir oral tablets to treat eligible patients and collaborates with myTomorrows to facilitate early access to Pritelivir for acyclovir-resistant mucocutaneous HSV infections in immunocompromised patients. Expanded Access Programs (EAP) offer an ethical, compliant, and controlled way of providing treatment with a medicine not licensed in a patient's country of residence. Eligible patients for an EAP are in high medical need, cannot participate in a Clinical Trial, and have exhausted all registered treatment options. More information can be requested here.

Pritelivir Indication

Pritelivir is being developed to treat acyclovir-resistant and dual-resistant (resistant to acyclovir and intolerant or resistant to foscarnet) HSV infections. HSV is a common and contagious virus; most adults and pediatric patients are HSV seropositive. The WHO says an estimated 3.7 billion people under age 50 (67%) have HSV-1 infection globally, and about 491 million people aged 15–49 (13%) worldwide have HSV-2 infection.

Herpes Treatments

Other herpes treatment news is posted at this link

Herpes Vaccines

Herpes vaccine candidates are conducting clinical trials.

Pritelivir News 2023

March 1, 2023 - A study disclosed Pritelivir was evaluated in multiple clinical studies.

October 6, 2022 - ACS Publications: Discovery, Chemistry, and Preclinical Development of Pritelivir, a Novel Treatment Option for Acyclovir-Resistant Herpes Simplex Virus Infections.

September 29, 2022 - AiCuris Anti-infective Cures AG announced the opening of the third round of its AiCubator corporate innovation accelerator initiative.

June 14, 2022 - AiCuris Anti-infective Cures AG announced the opening of its ongoing international Phase 2/3 clinical trial, PRIOH- 1. The study evaluates the efficacy and safety of oral pritelivir compared to standard intravenous foscarnet therapy.

July 8, 2021 - AiCuris Anti-infective Cures AG announced the start of pivotal phase 3 development with its proprietary lead compound pritelivir, a novel helicase-primase inhibitor, following encouraging phase 2 interim results achieved in the phase 2 part of its clinical phase 2/3 trial, PRIOH-1.

June 5, 2020 - "The decision by the FDA to grant Breakthrough Therapy designation for oral pritelivir underscores the potential of our product to fill the major need for innovative, more efficacious therapies for immunocompromised patients with HSV infections that have become resistant to standard treatments," said Dr. Holger Zimmermann, CEO of AiCuris Anti-infective Cures GmbH. "Pritelivir already has shown clinically that it has the potential to become an important alternative to current treatments as a highly effective and convenient oral therapy. The Breakthrough Therapy designation should enable us to further accelerate the development of this compound."

December 20, 2016 - The JAMA Network published: Effect of Pritelivir Compared With Valacyclovir on Genital HSV-2 Shedding in Patients With Frequent RecurrencesA Randomized Clinical Trial. Conclusions and Relevance  Among adults with frequently recurring genital HSV-2, the use of pritelivir compared with valacyclovir resulted in a lower percentage of swabs with HSV detection over 28 days. Further research is needed to assess longer-term efficacy and safety.

January 16, 2014 - Medscape wrote: Pritelivir May Be Effective and Safe Against Genital Herpes.

July 2004 - Discovery, SAR and Medicinal Chemistry of Herpesvirus Helicase Primase Inhibitors.

April 2002 - New helicase-primase inhibitors as drug candidates for treating herpes simplex disease.

Pritelivir Clinical Trials

The PRIOH-1 multi-center open-label Phase 3 trial evaluates the efficacy and safety of orally administered pritelivir for treating acyclovir-resistant mucocutaneous HSV infections in immunocompromised patients. In the second part of the trial, conducted at 20 sites in the U.S., 22 immunocompromised patients with acyclovir-resistant mucocutaneous HSV infections were randomized (2:1) to receive over up to 28 days either oral pritelivir or intravenously administered foscarnet, a virostatic agent which is mainly used for the treatment of herpes virus infections resistant to other antiviral drugs. In addition, eight immunocompromised patients with acyclovir-resistant mucocutaneous HSV infections who showed resistance or intolerance to foscarnet were also treated with pritelivir over up to 28 days. Based on the investigator's assessment, pritelivir treatment showed a very good cure rate of 93.3% in acyclovir-resistant infections. Moreover, in difficult-to-treat patients with minimal treatment options due to acyclovir resistance and foscarnet resistance or intolerance, pritelivir showed good efficacy within 28 days.

Phase 2 Study HIC#: 2000021054 - Trial on Efficacy and Safety of Pritelivir Tablets for Treatment of Acyclovir-resistant Mucocutaneous HSV (Herpes Simplex Virus) Infections in Immunocompromised Adults (PRIOH-1).

This Phase 1 clinical trial is a double-blind, single-center, randomized, placebo- and positive-controlled, parallel-group, 'nested crossover' trial with multiple oral dose administration of pritelivir or matching placebo as well as a single oral administration of moxifloxacin (positive control) and corresponding matching placebo in healthy male and female subjects. Last Update Posted: January 4, 2023.

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Herpes Treatments

Herpes Treatments August 2025

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states that as of 2025, there is no cure for the herpes simplex virus (HSV). However, the use of antiviral medicine shortens herpes outbreaks. According to Technavio, there were about 15 vendors in the herpes treatment market. To advance research on understanding and addressing HSV infection, the U.S. NIH has established the Strategic Plan for Herpes Simplex Virus Research (2023-2028). This plan aligns with ongoing national efforts, including the National Strategic Plan for Sexually Transmitted Infections. The CDC's STI Surveillance and Data Science Branch determined that the cost of each neonatal herpes patient is about $100,000.

Acyclovir is U.S. FDA-approved to decrease pain and speed the healing of sores or blisters in people with varicella, herpes zoster, and first-time or repeat genital herpes outbreaks. Acyclovir is also sometimes used to prevent outbreaks of genital herpes in people who are infected with HSV. Acyclovir belongs to a class of antiviral medications known as synthetic nucleoside analogs. However, Acyclovir (valacyclovir 500 mg) will not cure genital herpes and may not stop the spread of genital herpes to other people. The Acyclovir product segment reported a significant retail pharmacy market share (50.44%).

Zydus Cadila commercializes Acyclovir Ointment USP (US RLD Zovirax), 5%. This medication treats the first onset of genital herpes. Those with weakened immune systems can also use it to treat non-life-threatening lip and skin herpes infections.

Aurobindo Pharma Ltd. offers Valtrex® Tablets with 500mg base and 1g base for adults. However, it does not cure HSV.

Cipla Ltd. offers antiviral medicines for various viral infections, including herpes labialis, herpes simplex, shingles, and genital herpes, under the brand names ACIVIR 200 DT and ACIVIR 400 DT tablets.

Herpes Treatment Candidates 2025

Ruvidar has been shown to deactivate various viruses effectively. The research was conducted at Kevin Coombs's Ph.D. laboratory at the University of Manitoba in conjunction with the National Microbiology Laboratory and Theralase® Technologies Inc. In animal studies, it may be more effective than Acyclovir.

AiCuris's Pritelivir (AIC316) is a potent inhibitor of HSV replication that belongs to a new chemical class and acts via a novel mechanism of action. In contrast to currently used nucleoside analogues, Pritelivir does not require activation by viral enzymes and can thus protect uninfected cells. On March 1, 2023, a clinical study suggested Pritelivir was safe and well tolerated, up to 600 mg following single and up to 200 mg following multiple once-daily doses. Considering a therapeutic dose of 100 mg once daily, pritelivir demonstrated a favorable safety, tolerability, and pharmacokinetic profile in healthy subjects to support further development. However, Pritelivir does not cure herpes.

Assembly Biosciences, Inc. announced the selection of development candidate ABI-5366 (5366) to progress to IND-enabling studies for its long-acting HSV-2 helicase inhibitor program. 

Laboratoire Boreaderme Inc. and Ecogene 21 announced in September 2020 that they are focused on a Phase 2 clinical study to evaluate the safety profile of BOR15001L7 to docosanol 10% for managing cold sores in patients with recurrent herpes labialis.

A study published in May 2023 found that a molecule can effectively treat the lesions accompanying shingles and suggests the molecule may also work against the viruses that cause oral and genital herpes.

Herpes Encephalitis in Patients With Autoimmune Conditions or Immunomodulatory Medications

A large national population study published on May 2, 2024, found that Herpes virus encephalitis is strongly associated with preexisting autoimmune disease and exposure to immunosuppressive and immunomodulatory medications. To date, the role of antecedent immune-related dysregulation may have been underestimated.

Mothers' Antibodies Against HSV-1

A study published in the journal mBio® in 2017, headed by Dartmouth Researchers at Geisel, sheds new light on maternal antibodies' critical role in protecting neonatal nervous systems against infections. This study shows that antibody-secreting cells entered the trigeminal ganglion (TG), a key site of HSV infection, and persisted long after establishing latent infection. We also demonstrate the ability of passively administered IgG to enter the TG independently of infection, showing that the naive TG is accessible to antibodies. 

Herpes Tests

The WHO announced in July 2023 that a new report on the Diagnostics Landscape for Sexually Transmitted Infections highlights diagnostics available to support scale-up of screening for STIs, including herpes. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force published in February 2023 recommendations on screening for genital herpes infection in asymptomatic adults and adolescents, including pregnant individuals. Mylab Discovery Solutions in India launched the PathoDetect™ HSV Type 1& 2 Detection kit, a multiplex real-time PCR test that detects and differentiates HSV-l and HSV-2 in a single tube. And LabCorp Herpes Simplex Virus Types 1/2, DNA PCR.

Herpes Overview

Genital herpes is caused by herpes simplex virus type 1 (oral) and type 2, a common sexually transmitted disease (STD) associated with substantial health losses. To advance research to understand and address HSV infection, the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH), in September 2023, established the Strategic Plan for Herpes Simplex Virus Research 2023-2030. This plan aligns with ongoing national efforts, including the Sexually Transmitted Infections (STI) National Strategic Plan. A study published in 2023 estimated 0.05 lifetime quality-adjusted life years lost per incident infection, equivalent to losing 0.05 years or about 18 days of life for one person with perfect health. 

A study published in October 2023 identified that increased serologic titers of herpes simplex virus 2 were associated with reduced whole-brain cortical thickness, and a combined score of HSV-2 and C. pneumoniae displayed an additive effect on reduced cortical thickness. These findings suggest HSV-2 seropositivity may contribute to accelerated brain aging, possibly resulting in an increased vulnerability to cognitive impairment and neurodegenerative disease in aging populations.

Herpes Vaccines

As of 2025, the U.S. FDA has not approved a herpes vaccine candidate.

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Pritelivir is a nonnucleoside helicase primase inhibitor against HSV
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Osivax today announced that it had received a pneumonia and pandemic preparedness grant of over USD 1 million from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to support additional research and development of its lead, broad-spectrum influenza vaccine candidate, OVX836.

Osivax confirmed it would use the grant to evaluate the breadth and the duration of protection provided by OVX836 against a wider range of seasonal and highly pathogenic influenza strains.

And this research will assess the potential of OVX836 to provide long-term protection against emerging and circulating strains of influenza, thus informing its potential as a standalone influenza vaccine administered less frequently than annually. 

Alexandre Le Vert, CEO and Co-Founder of Osivax commented in a press release on March 28, 2023, "The support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will allow us to widen the scope of OVX863 development and bring us one step closer to providing much needed, universal protection against both seasonal and pandemic influenza strains, which continue posing a significant global health threat."

OVX836 has shown promising safety, immunogenicity, and efficacy data across preclinical and clinical trials (Phase 1 and 2a) and continues to be evaluated in additional studies.

As of March 4, 2023, about 173.37 influenza vaccines were distributed in the U.S. during the 2022-2023 flu season.

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