Rational Vaccines Announces a Clinical Trial to Determine Baseline Characteristics of Patients Diagnosed With Recurrent Symptomatic Herpes Simplex Type 2 (HSV-2) Virus
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Study to be conducted at two leading research institutions in the U.K. Results will inform protocol design of Phase 1/2 clinical trial of Company's lead HSV-2 therapeutic vaccine candidate WOBURN, Mass. and OXFORD, England, Aug. 15, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Rational Vaccines a company focused on revolutionizing the treatment and prevention of herpes to eradicate the disease, today announced the launch of a clinical trial designed to determine the baseline characteristics of patients diagnosed with recurrent symptomatic herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2). In addition to assessing the typical baseline characteristics of population, the purpose of this study is also to determine the acceptance of clinical trial procedures and understand the interest of the target patient population to participate in a therapeutic Phase 1/2 HSV-2 vaccine study.
The study, "A Study of the Characteristics of Patients Diagnosed With Recurrent Symptomatic Genital Herpetic Disease," will be led by Dr. Rajul Patel, consultant physician for genitourinary and HIV medicine at Southampton University Hospital, Southampton, England. The trial will be conducted at Southampton University Hospital, and at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, London, England. "Most people living with herpes are unaware they have the infection leading to unrecognized transmission and spread of the virus. Patients who develop symptomatic herpetic disease suffer not only from recurrent physical symptoms, but may also suffer from social stigma and isolation because the infection is usually transmitted sexually," said Kerstin Westritschnig, M.D., chief medical officer of Rational Vaccines. "There is no cure for herpes. There are no approved vaccines or immunotherapies or sufficiently reliable diagnostics currently available1. Antiviral medications developed in the 1970s can help to reduce the severity and frequency of symptoms but cannot cure the infection." "We look forward to initiating this clinical study as these findings will help inform the design of our Phase 1/2 clinical trial which will evaluate our lead vaccine candidate for HSV-2," added Dr. Westritschnig. For More Information About This Clinical Trial About Herpes Simplex Virus (HSV) While most herpes infections are asymptomatic, a significant number of people experience a range of symptoms that vary in frequency and severity. The most common symptoms for both types of herpes are painful blisters or ulcers. In addition, many patients experience debilitating neuralgia, skin splits, fissures, minor abrasions, erythema, fever, chills, and myalgias. Both viruses are most contagious during a symptomatic outbreak, but they can still be transmitted in the absence of symptoms. Strong evidence has emerged that HSV-1 is a major risk factor for Alzheimer's disease3. About Rational Vaccines 1https:/www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/herpes-simplex-virus and Herpes - STI Treatment Guidelines (cdc.gov) 2WHO | First global and regional estimates of HIV infections attributable to HSV-2 infection 3https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6075814/
SOURCE Rational Vaccines |
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