The BioNTech team and UPenn have previously partnered on pre-clinical study of an mRNA-based vaccine candidate to prevent genital herpes. This work is led by lead investigator Dr. Harvey Friedman and team at the University of Pennsylvania.
A new clinical trial A Clinical Trial in Healthy Volunteers to Study the Safety, Tolerability, and Immune Responses After Vaccination With an Investigational Vaccine Designed to Prevent Genital Herpes Lesions is now testing the BioNTech/UPenn formulation, BNT163, and it is recruiting as of today.
The clinical trial, posted on ClinicalTrials.gov on June 27th, is enrolling HSV negative individuals to test the effectiveness of a vaccine candidate to prevent genital herpes. Trials are set to begin in September 2022 with a completion date of 2025. Locations for the study are to be determined and will be posted when finalized.
This clinical trial is for HSV negative, healthy participants to test safety and efficacy in a two-part study. Part A will be multiple doses of vaccine, The highest dose that is well tolerated will be studied in a larger number of subjects in part B.
Regarding a therapeutic to treat those living with genital herpes: Within the next 1-2 months, Dr. Friedman and his lab will be turning energies towards a therapeutic, plans for an experimental approach are underway.
HSV- patients interested in participation can contact: patients@biontech.de