Cantab's Disc Virus Vaccine For Herpes

Preclinical studies have demonstrated that Cantab Pharmaceuticals' Disabled Infectious Single Cycle (DISC) Herpes simplex type 2 may be effective as a vaccine for preventing and treating genital herpes. The findings were presented at the 19th International Herpes Virus Workshop in Vancouver, Canada.

The data show that when given as a prophylactic vaccine by subcutaneous injection, the DISC HSV 2 product achieved 100% protection against primary disease symptoms in an animal model of genital herpes. Furthermore, when the vaccine was given intravaginally after experience of primary disease, the incidence of recurrent episodes of diseases was reduced by 50%. Cantab is pursuing further experiments which, it hopes, will lead to an even lower recurrence rate being reported. The company is also developing a DISC vaccine against HSV 1. A patent covering the technology was granted to Cantab in the UK in July.