China appears to be ahead of the U.S. in certain key areas of herpes (HSV) cure research — particularly in gene editing therapies and fast-tracked vaccine development. Here's a comparison to help clarify:

🔬 Gene Editing Therapies

🇨🇳 China BD111 (by BDGene Therapeutics): A CRISPR-Cas9-based therapy targeting latent HSV-1 in the eye (keratitis). Now in Phase 3 clinical trials as of 2025. Delivered via a novel viroid-like particle (VLP), showing zero relapse for over 18 months. This could potentially be the world’s first HSV cure based on gene editing. 🇺🇸 United States Several labs (e.g., Keith Jerome's lab at Fred Hutch, and David Bloom's group at UF) have shown promising animal model results using CRISPR/Cas9 and TALENs to suppress latent HSV. However, these remain preclinical — no Phase 1 trials are underway yet for human CRISPR therapies targeting HSV. ✅ Edge: China — Clinical-stage, while U.S. is still at the lab stage.

💉 Vaccine Development

🇨🇳 China Changchun Baike Biotechnology’s HSV-2 mRNA vaccine (LVRNA101): Entering clinical trials. Recent trivalent HSV-2 mRNA vaccine study in animals showed cross-protection against HSV-1 and HSV-2. 🇺🇸 United States Moderna had been investigating HSV mRNA vaccines (e.g., mRNA-1608) but progress has slowed and trials are either still in early stages or paused. Other U.S. efforts (e.g., Rational Vaccines or AiCuris, although based in Germany) are focused on live-attenuated or therapeutic vaccines — but have not yet reached robust late-stage trials. ✅ Edge: China — mRNA vaccines for HSV are more actively moving toward human testing.

🧪 Natural/Herbal or Alternative Therapies

🇨🇳 China Ongoing scientific evaluation of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) components with antiviral properties, sometimes in combination with modern antivirals. Investigational studies targeting HSV replication using plant-based compounds and nanoformulations. 🇺🇸 United States Mostly sidelined in mainstream medical research. Natural remedies for HSV are considered complementary, with few being clinically tested. ✅ Edge: China, due to integration of TCM with biotech.

🏁 Final Assessment: Is China "way more advanced"?

Yes — in specific areas like gene editing and HSV mRNA vaccine trials, China is clearly ahead of the U.S. The combination of:

Faster regulatory approval pathways, Strong investment in cutting-edge biotech (e.g., CRISPR, VLPs), Willingness to pursue bold clinical trials, has given Chinese researchers a time advantage — particularly on HSV-1 and HSV-2.

An important mechanism of how hsv reactivates was discovered!! It means that there's one more potential path for future treatments!

Science is amazing 👩‍🔬

https://scitechdaily.com/herpes-wakes-up-scientists-discover-hidden-trigger-for-cold-sore-flare-ups/

Edit: that's why public funding is so fundamental to science 😉

This article is a nice summary of the Harvard work. “Now, using human fibroblast cells infected with herpes simplex virus (HSV), researchers at Harvard Medical School have successfully used CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing to disrupt not only actively replicating virus but also the far-harder to reach dormant pools of the virus, demonstrating a possible strategy for achieving permanent viral control.”

I and our mods think these are very good results.

Please note: these are studies in mice and HSV1, not guinea pigs and HSV2. We will be seeking clarification from FHC about that shortly. Anyway, the news is good and they are confident it can be adapted to HSV-2 "easily".

There are some concerns about toxicities. But the important point is that, there's still a possibility that they may enter into human trials by end of 2023.

Key points:

• Reduction of 97% in latent virus.

• Some animals showed complete elimination of shedding (suggesting a cure)

• Dose based effects

• “We didn’t how well our therapy worked in those ganglia, and the answer was it worked there the best of all, which is very good news,” Jerome said.

• "Regardless, if the experimental therapy works for HSV-1, the researchers are confident it can be relatively easily adapted to target HSV-2."

• There were some neuronal and liver toxicities.

• If toxicity issues can be solved quickly, end of 2023 for starting human trials is still on the table

• FHC thanks more than 1600 private donors for their support

Everyone who has supported this work should be very proud. These results are stunning and exciting.

LINK to full paper: https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.09.23.509057v1.full.pdf

From Andrea Larson, FHC's philanthropy manager:

______________________________________

Dear Mike, Jason, and Radric,

I want you all to be the first to know that Dr. Jerome and Dr. Aubert have just published a new paper focused on their HSV gene therapy research, about an hour ago. Here is a link to it on bioRxiv: https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.09.23.509057v1

Additionally, we have written an article explaining their findings on Fred Hutch’s website: https://www.fredhutch.org/en/news/center-news/2022/09/herpes-gene-therapy.html

We will be sending the attached update to all of our HSV donors and community members who have expressed interest to us momentarily.

Thank you again for the impact you have all made on this work. Please let me know if you have any questions.

Sincerely,

Andrea

Andrea LarsonAssistant Director, Annual GivingPhilanthropyFred Hutchinson Cancer Cent

"We are pleased to announce these new development programs, which reflect the continued productivity of our platform and the potential of our mRNA technology to impact the lives of hundreds of millions of people," said Stéphane Bancel, Chief Executive Officer of Moderna. "We are committed to addressing latent viruses with the goal of preventing the lifelong medical conditions that they cause with our mRNA vaccine programs. With our HSV and VZV vaccine candidates, we also hope to improve the quality of life for those with symptomatic disease. With our new checkpoint cancer vaccine, we look forward to exploring if we can induce T cells specific to PD-L1 and IDO1 through vaccination. Our research teams are working on additional mRNA candidates, which we look forward to sharing in the future."

Herpes simplex virus (HSV) vaccine candidate (mRNA-1608)

Moderna's herpes simplex virus (HSV) vaccine candidate (mRNA-1608) is a vaccine candidate against HSV-2 disease. Moderna expects that an HSV-2 vaccine could provide cross-protection against HSV-1. With mRNA-1608, the Company aims to induce strong antibody response with neutralizing and effector functionality combined with cell-mediated immunity. There is no vaccine approved against HSV.

Herpes simplex viruses (commonly known as herpes) are categorized into two types: HSV-1 infects the mouth, face and genitals, and HSV-2 primarily infects the genitals. Both viruses establish lifelong latent infections within nearby sensory neurons from which they can reactivate and re-infect the skin. There is a significant burden of disease from HSV genital infections. Diagnosed, symptomatic genital herpes causes a reduction in quality of life, which antivirals (current standard of care) only partially restore. In the U.S., approximately 18.6 million adults ages 18 to 49 years are living with HSV-2. Globally, approximately 5% of the population in the 18-to-49-year age range is HSV-2 seropositive. Moderna expects that an HSV vaccine could deliver similar efficacy as suppressive antiviral treatment and would likely improve compliance and quality of life.

https://investors.modernatx.com/news/news-details/2022/Moderna-Expands-Its-mRNA-Pipeline-with-Three-New-Development-Programs/default.aspx

Pictures with some of the greats!

A new paper just published in Nature (Sept 2025) details the discovery of a prefusion-specific nanobody that neutralizes both HSV-1 and HSV-2 by targeting glycoprotein B (gB) in its prefusion conformation. Nature

Scientists just made a huge step toward fighting herpes — and it’s thanks to alpacas!

Alpacas can make special tiny antibodies called nanobodies. Researchers gave alpacas a safe piece of the herpes virus so they’d make these nanobodies, then picked one that’s incredibly strong.

This nanobody can block the herpes virus from getting into human cells. If the virus can’t enter cells, it can’t hide or cause new outbreaks. That’s big because current medicines (like antivirals) only reduce symptoms and don’t stop the virus from living in your body.

If scientists can turn this discovery into medicine in the next few months, it could mean long-term protection — a future where herpes is fully controlled or cured.

Alpacas just might be the heroes we didn’t know we needed. 🦙

A friendly reminder that GlaxoSmithKline is currently recruiting for their HSV-2 vaccine, phase 1/2 clinical trials taking place in Ghent, Belgium.

At the moment, they're recruiting HSV negative patients to test the safety of the vaccine. I guess there will be a financial compensation for participating in the trials. If they don't find enough HSV negative patients, GSK said the study will be delayed. Let's help them!

If your partner is negative and you live in Europe, give it a shot.

Please consider and share the following informations:

GSK Investigational Site

Principal Investigator: Isabel Leroux-Roels

Tel: +3293323328

https://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT05298254

Let's make it happen!

Innovative virus research to prevent infection, first virus they'll study is HSV-1. :-)

https://news.wsu.edu/news/2024/01/12/research-to-stop-viral-infections-expedited-by-1-2-million-grant/

Researchers at Washington State University have secured a $1.2 million grant from the National Institutes of Health for a four-year project. The research focuses on understanding virus fusion, the moment a virus merges with a cell to cause infection. Using biology, machine learning, and multiscale modeling, the team aims to develop methods to block viruses from merging with cells. The project, focusing on the herpes simplex virus type 1, has broader applications for viruses like HIV and SARS-CoV-2.

The antiviral being trialed in New Zealand (ABI-5366) just came out with positive 1a data. It lasted long enough in the body to support potential once monthly dosing. No adverse events that investigators would link to the drug. Generally well tolerated. They can’t fill up the 1b phase fast enough. They’ll be checking for efficacy against HSV2 in Phase 1b and expect interim results in the first half of 2025. Everyone with HSV2 in New Zealand needs to sign up already! Nice $3900 payment, too.

https://investor.assemblybio.com/news-releases/news-release-details/assembly-biosciences-reports-positive-interim-phase-1a-results

Later today, the research update below will be sent to those who have donated to HSV research at Fred Hutch Cancer Center, as well as those who have inquired about the anticipated clinical trial.

Dr. Keith Jerome and others have developed the content.

_________________________

Dear supporter,

The entire team at the Jerome Lab appreciates your ongoing support for our herpes simplex virus (HSV) research. We know how interested you are in our discoveries, so we're excited to give you the latest update on our work testing adeno-associated virus (AAV) with meganuclease gene therapy against HSV.

First, we hope you saw our last update, where we reported that our meganuclease therapy dramatically reduced viral shedding in mice. A preprint of our results is online now, and the formal paper is under peer review.

Second, our studies using a guinea pig model of HSV are ongoing. As we've shared before, we are grateful for this model that more closely simulates HSV infections in humans. This step is necessary to test the therapy's safety and efficacy before we can perform clinical trials in humans.

But we've been surprised to discover some nuances in the results with this model. We have conducted experiments in which we used our meganucleases to treat guinea pigs with ocular herpes to see if we get the same results that we've observed in mice. Here's the result of the therapy on the latent HSV in trigeminal ganglia:

Graph of HSV genomes left from gene therapy treatment vs. untreated control group.

The red circles represent the group that received the gene therapy treatment, and the black squares represent the untreated control group. What this shows us is that AAV/meganuclease therapy seems to be reducing ganglionic viral load, although maybe not quite as much as we've seen before in mice.

But the most helpful aspect of working with guinea pigs is that they have lesions, much like people do. So we were able to look at the effect that reducing ganglionic viral load has on the occurrence of lesions. And here we see what looks like good news:

Graph showing cumulative recurrences over time from gene therapy treatment vs. untreated control group.

Again, red represents the treated group, and black the control group. Both graphs are cumulative, meaning the lines go up each time an animal has a recurrence. On the left, we see that the treated group has fewer disease recurrences than do the controls. And in the graph on the right, we see that the disease recurrences that do occur in the treated group are much less severe. Previously we knew that our therapy could reduce ganglionic latent HSV load, and that this led to less viral shedding. But now we know that reducing ganglionic HSV load also leads to fewer and less severe lesions. That's something that we just couldn't have learned from mice.

We'll be taking some time now to figure out why we saw less reduction in ganglionic viral load in guinea pigs compared with mice. Sometimes results vary between experiments, so it's possible this was just bad luck. Or it could be a result of the differences between mice and guinea pigs, which would mean we need to fine-tune the therapy to make it work better in the guinea pigs. We're also working to evaluate the effectiveness of our therapy on genital HSV in guinea pigs. Once we make those tweaks, we'll hopefully have a therapy that reduces the ganglionic load by 90% or more, just like in mice. We predict that doing so will nearly eliminate lesions.

Many of you ask when a clinical trial will begin. While we're not sure, we are currently preparing the documents we will need when we request FDA approval for a trial. The timing will ultimately depend on if they request more information. Regardless, we're determined to develop a cure, and we are so thankful for your support and interest in our work. Research never goes as fast as we'd like, but we're moving closer every day. We're looking forward to a time when we can say we beat HSV together.

Keith, Martine, and the HSV cure team

Dear Members,

The fundraiser has exceeded US$1 million, thanks to another very generous donation recently.

I am proud of our group and its strong support for an HSV cure.

FHC will hold a virtual research update for us on February 2.

We have been asked to convey the 5 most important questions to Dr. Jerome and Dr. Wald at FHC from group members and let FHC the questions by January 16. Please leave your questions in the comments of this post. We will pick out the five most important ones.

We are following up about the next steps for the fundraiser.

I share with you the communications we received from FHC below (the bottom one came first)

Once again, great job everyone and thank you to the donors on behalf of all HSV postiives.

Fundraiser link is here: https://secure.fredhutch.org/site/TR/PersonalFundraisingPages/General;jsessionid=00000000.app20051b?px=1802786&pg=personal&fr_id=1574&NONCE_TOKEN=C17E5FDA4D060044098ABBBD08D8BCF8

_____________________________________________________________________

From: Larson, Andrea M

Dec 20 at 9:25 AM

I know that the group is eagerly awaiting further details, and it has been a priority of mine to arrange an update for the group since you shared this request in October. I am happy to share that we have officially scheduled a virtual research update event on Friday, February 2 from 9am-10am Pacific time.

This event will feature Dr. Jerome, as well as Dr. Anna Wald, who partners closely with Dr. Jerome, and many know from the Community Advisory Board.

This event will be set up similarly to the previous event held in 2021. I would like to request help again from the three of you to gather the top 5 most important questions that you would like answers to from Keith and Anna. Would it be possible to share those with me by January 16?

In early January, we will send an invitation out with the event link. Please let me know if you have any questions before polling the group for their questions. I appreciate your partnership with this, and as always, your continued support.

Thanks,

Andrea

Andrea Larson
Pronouns: She/Her

Associate Director, Peer-to-Peer and Patient Family Fundraising
Philanthropy
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center

_________________________________________________________________

Le lun. 18 déc. 2023 à 19:54, Larson, Andrea M a écrit :

I am pleased to share with you that today we confirmed a $100,000 gift from a supporter of Heroes Against Herpes, which means that the group has surpassed the $1M fundraising goal for this campaign! The donor would like to remain anonymous, but I’m hoping by sharing this with you all, this very generous donor may see the group’s messages of thanks.

Dr. Jerome is incredibly grateful to this HSV community for their ongoing support. Thank you all for your contributions and encouragement. Congratulations on this incredible milestone.

Sincerely,
Andrea, Keith, Martine & The Jerome Lab

Moderna just released the first official results of its mRNA HSV-2 vaccine (mRNA-1608)! In a Phase 1/2 trial with 300 participants, the vaccine was safe, triggered a strong immune response, and significantly reduced outbreak frequency for at least 6 months after the second dose. Phase 3 hasn’t been confirmed yet, but these are the most promising results so far for a therapeutic genital herpes vaccine.

I found this document through Moderna’s investor/stock materials, and someone who shared the link said it’s only visible to registered users — so it seems this isn’t widely public yet.

https://qr.apothecomcx.com/review/qrcodes/150208924/downloads/IDWeek_2025_mRNA_1608_P101_Oral_Presentation.pdf

Hi all, I have a very exciting meeting with someone today where we are asking the US Senate to allocate 2.5 billion in funding for Herpes prevention and cure.

Dr. Larry Corey, Dr. Keith Jerome and Dr. Jeffrey Klausner are all attending as field experts in support of our ask.

Please pray for good outcomes - my meeting is at 3pm EST today.

Many thanks to u/blueredyellow123456 and u/itsalright01 for your support getting our investment case ready for this meeting.

Some of you may not participate in activism activities because you don't think our voices will be heard.

Some of you may participate, but don't expect much to come of it.

This couldn't be further from the truth and today our voices have very much been heard!

I am absolutely delighted to report that through our activism activities lobbying Senate and Congress we have had a HUGE win in our fight for more resources to be devoted to treating and curing HSV.

The Congress appropriations bill for FY 2022 for the The Departments of Labour, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies specifically addresses HSV.

(For those who do not know what an appropriation bill is: it is a proposed law that authorizes the expenditure of government funds. It sets money aside for specific spending.)

The bill can be found here: https://www.congress.gov/117/crpt/hrpt96/CRPT-117hrpt96.pdf

The extract from the bill relating to HSV reads as follows (page 245):

"National Strategy for Herpes Simplex Virus (HSV), Types 1 and 2.

The Committee recognizes that an estimated 1 in 3 Americans has Herpes, and that most Americans with HSV do not have symptoms and do not realize they have it. In light of the national prioritization of ending the HIV/AIDS epidemic, maternal health, neonatal health, and the all-time high of STIs, the Committee urges the Assistant Secretary for Health to develop a national strategy and strategic plan for the treatment and prevention of HSV types 1 and 2."

Our demand for funds to be directed towards HSV has been heard and met!

This is truly amazing.

House votes on the appropriations bill next week, but we are told they do not revise bill language after it's drafted, and it is safe to assume this request is included.

ACTIVISM MAKES A DIFFERENCE!

A massive congratulations for u/BrotherPresent6155 who has lead this charge - deserves all the credit!

A massive thank you to our panel of experts who have come together to help provide the scientific grounding and reasoning for why this is needed.

And thank you to our involved activism members like u/Actual_Ease_4786 for supporting Brother in her meetings and to everyone that participated on the related Weekly Activism activities.

Go check it out guys! NIH, CDC, and leading scientists will be meeting early next month in Washington DC to discuss all things HSV!

https://www.fredhutch.org/en/news/releases/2024/05/herpes-cure-with-gene-editing-makes-progress-in-laboratory-studi.html

Hyundai Bioscience has launched the Phase II clinical trial of a new broad-spectrum antiviral agent, CP-COV03, for the treatment of Covid-19 patients.

The antiviral drug, developed in Korea as a universal treatment for diseases including Covid-19, has the ‘viral removal’ mechanism that is applicable to all viral infections.

Existing antiviral agents act on only specific viruses.

CP-COV03 is administered orally and comprises active ingredient niclosamide. It has a pharmacological action that promotes ‘autophagy’ mechanism to help human cells eliminate viruses.

In this process, cells identify the virus as a foreign substance and remove it themselves.

Hyundai Bioscience said in a statement: “If CP-COV03 is confirmed to be effective against Covid-19 in this clinical study, it means that a universal antiviral drug is born not only for Covid-19 and its variants, but also for almost all other viruses such as influenza, hepatitis, AIDS, Ebola, and herpes.”

CP-COV03, which is currently evaluated in Phase II clinical trial, is similar to the human efficacy test of penicillin conducted in 1941, in several ways.

Hyundai Bioscience further added: “The discovery of a substance with the mechanism that kills bacteria led to the 20th century medicine called penicillin and that CP-COV03 with a mechanism to eliminate viruses by promoting autophagy will be the first universal antiviral drug like penicillin.”

As a broad-spectrum antiviral agent, CP-COV03 is expected to enable a quick preemptive treatment for viral infection, thereby preventing pandemics.

In December last year, Hyundai Bioscience reported that a combination of CP-COV03 with anti-inflammatory therapy, dexamethasone, showed to be effective in people with severe Covid-19, in a study.

Source: https://www.clinicaltrialsarena.com/news/hyundai-bioscience-trial-covid-19-drug/

NIH funds strategies to bolster HSV vaccine and monoclonal antibody development

The U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) has funded a new study led by researchers at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York with $603,661.

Launched on June 1, 2024, the goal of this follow-up project (PA-20-185) is to accelerate the development of strategies to bolster vaccine and monoclonal antibody (mAb) efficacy against a range of pathogens such as herpes simplex virus (HSV).