First vaccines targeting 'cruise ship virus' sail into clinical trials

Abstract

Arntzen hopes that soon others won't have to endure the same experience. He and many other researchers are now working to develop a vaccine against the highly contagious, vomit-inducing virus, with the lead candidate already tested in humans and at least two more contenders slated to enter clinical trials in the next couple of years. And on the therapeutics front, researchers from the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) reported in the September issue of the Journal of Virology that they had produced the first monoclonal antibodies proven to neutralize human norovirus and block infection in chimpanzees 1 . Such antibodies could potentially be used to treat vulnerable populations or to prevent the spread of outbreaks. “But we have a lot of work to do [...] before we can evaluate our therapeutic antibodies in humans,” says study author Kim Green, a microbiologist at the NIAID in Bethesda, Maryland. And even if the therapy proves effective, the high price tag of monoclonal antibodies is likely to limit their use, which is why most of the field is focused on developing a cheaper, preventative vaccine.