“Vical Inc. said its genital herpes vaccine didn’t meet the primary endpoint in a Phase 1/Phase 2 clinical trial.” (1) – WSJ.com
Herpes vaccines have been in the news a lot recently.
You see, the public WANTS an effective herpes vaccine that will prevent herpes, or cure it. However, time and time again, researchers have failed. For example, the latest vaccine candidate from Vical, Inc. recently failed to meet expectations during initial clinical trials. As reported, the vaccine “didn’t meet the primary endpoint of reducing viral shedding.” (1)
Vijay Samant, president and CEO of Vical said:
“We just received the top-line study data and we are disappointed that the vaccines did not meet the primary endpoint. The trial is ongoing and all patients are being followed for safety for 12 months and efficacy for nine months after their final vaccine dose.” (1) Due to the failure of the vaccine candidate, Vical’s company shares fell by 47%. As reported, “the biopharmaceutical company’s shares were down 47% to 75 cents in after-hours trading.” (1)
Obviously, this is disappointing news, since removing herpes from a long list of chronic diseases would be an important step forward for medicine. Yet, we feel that our customers should be aware that it is common for many vaccine candidates to fail during clinical trials. Also, developing an effective, therapeutic vaccine against the herpes virus (HSV-1 and HSV-2) and gaining FDA approval takes time.
The Bottom Line?
This is why alternative remedies against the herpes virus are desperately needed!
The public at large tends to agree with us. In fact, as of 2007, up to 40% of American adults had tried, or preferred using, complimentary medicines over drugs. (2)
References:
(1) Beckerman, J. “Vical’s Herpes Vaccine Didn’t Meet Primary Endpoint” Published June 22, 2015. wsj.com
(2) The Use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine in the United States https://nccih.nih.gov/
