Human Trials Will Begin Soon for the First Potential Zika Vaccine

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) gave a green light Monday to the first human trial of a potential Zika vaccine.

Inovio Pharmaceuticals and GeneOne Life Science are at the helm of the study and have already conducted promising animal trials. They say that they will begin phase one with 40 healthy adults in the next coming weeks. Dubbed GLS-5700, the vaccine is based on synthetic fragments of virus DNA that stimulate antibodies, according to the Guardian.

Although it could deliver results this year, researchers warn that the journey to market could take years. Also, “since the vaccine would likely be needed for pregnant women or women who are about to become pregnant, the FDA will want to see extensive safety data in these populations,” said Dr. Peter Hotez, dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College in Houston, to the Guardian.

The WHO declared Zika a global public-health emergency in February. It is primarily spread through mosquito bites but can also be sexually transmitted. More than 1 million cases have been reported across 39 countries and territories. Although the disease effects are mild for the majority of people infected, it has been linked to Guillain-Barré syndrome and causes complications for pregnant women, with nearly 5,000 cases reported in Brazil of newborns with the birth defect microcephaly.

The mosquito-borne disease currently has no treatment or vaccine.

[Guardian]