Vironika, LLC, secured a Phase I Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to develop small molecule Inhibitors to eradicate herpes simplex virus (HSV) Latent infection in neurons.
The goal of the SBIR proposal is to develop novel small molecule drug candidate for the treatment of Herpes Simplex Virus (HSV) latent infection in neurons. It is estimated that ~800,000 individuals in the US will be newly infected with HSV1 or HSV2 each year, and that the total infection rate approaches 80% for adults over 50 yrs of age. Long-term latent infection and chronic reactivation of HSV1 and HSV2 remain a significant source of morbidity, including a major source of blindness and encephalitis. HSV latency is associated with ocular keratitis, blindness, and encephalitis, as well as chronic reactivation leading to significant discomfort and morbidity. HSV latent infection may also be linked to Alzheimer’s disease.
“Chronic, long-term infection with herpes simplex virus remains a significant unmet medical need.There is no vaccine and drug to cure this disease. We are very excited to obtain this funding which allows us to develop a new treatment for HSV latent infection.” says Takahiro Yano, Ph.D., Principal Investigator of this grant.