Vical is collaborating with the university’s School of Medicine and the Sealy Center for Vaccine Development under a previously disclosed grant on the preclinical development of an HSV-2 vaccine.
The initial focus will be on people already infected with HSV-2, and the goal is to reduce or eliminate periodic viral flare-ups, the associated viral shedding and transmission.
The vaccine will be evaluated with Vical’s Vaxfectin adjuvant.
The new ‘339 patent covers DNA vaccines containing the HSV-2 UL49 gene, which encodes the VP22 tegument protein, formulated with or without Vical’s Vaxfectin adjuvant, and adds to Vical’s family of patents in the US and other key regions (Vical has additional issued patents covering the composition and use of the Vaxfectin adjuvant).