GenVec (www.genvec.com), a biopharmaceutical company developing novel therapeutic drugs and vaccines, announced that it has received a Phase I Small Business Innovation and Research grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases of the National Institutes of Health to assist GenVec’s work to create novel adenovector-based vaccines for HSV-2 (a virus of genital herpes). The SBIR grant will support development being administrated at Gen Vec, the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Institute at Fred Hutchingson Cancer Research Center, and the University of Washington.

Dr. Rick King, GenVec’s Senior Vice President of Research and Development commented, “HSV-2 continues to be a worldwide medical problem, which also contributes to the spread of HIV. There is considerable laboratory and clinical evidence that suggests that host T-cell immune responses are critical both in influencing the spread of and the severity of HSV-2 infections. GenVec’s adenovector technology is ideally suited for vaccine strategies that induce strong T-cell mediated immune responses. We are extremely pleased that this grant gives us the opportunity to work with the premier investigators in the development of HSV-2 vaccines.”

Development under this grant will concentrate on testing adenovirus vectors containing novel HSV-2 antigens. The vaccine candidates (mice and nonhuman primates) will be evaluated for their ability to create the CD8 T-cell responses.

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