08 Jul The First Zika Vaccine is Being Tested
Inovio Pharmaceuticals has announced that it will soon begin testing its Zika vaccine, making this the first human trial. The company is based in Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania, and worked with Gene One Life Science in South Korea to create the vaccine.
This Zika vaccine has been named GLS-5700 and will be tested on 40 volunteer subjects. According to Inovio the testing should begin within the next few weeks. Prior to this, there was a round of testing conducted on animals, and Inovio announced the results were very promising. As they move into the next phase of their testing with human subjects, they hope that these results will be just as successful.
However, even if this round of testing is successful, it will be quite some time before an effective Zika vaccine hits the market. Further testing will have to be conducted to make sure that the vaccine is safe and meets the Federal Drug Administration’s strict guidelines and requirements.
Inovio isn’t the only organization working on a Zika vaccine, however. Dr. Anthony Fauci and his team at the National Institutes of Health are also hoping to create successful methods of treating and preventing the spread of Zika. Fauci’s team is trying their hand at several approaches to a vaccine, with one being similar to Inovio’s method, using DNA in its process. He believes that the team at the National Institutes of Health might be able to start testing their Zika vaccines by the end of August.
Until this year, Zika was an incredibly rare virus. Because of how few cases existed, there was no vaccine and no plans on how to inhibit Zika’s spread. As the fight against Zika continues, we suggest all our readers stay safe and protect themselves from mosquito bites. NET effect can help ward off mosquitoes and keep you safe until a Zika vaccine is found.