Herpes vaccine holds promise, but may face controversy.(Brief Article)

2002 JUL 24 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- New research from Datamonitor (DTM.L), a market analysis company, finds that with doctors lacking confidence in the effectiveness of available treatments for genital herpes, and no cure in the pipeline, the focus has turned towards preventative vaccines to curtail what is rapidly becoming an international healthcare priority.

A new vaccine is set to launch in 2004, which claims to prevent certain women from contracting the disease. This will, however, be of no help to the 13 million diagnosed genital herpes sufferers in the United States, as once this sexually transmitted disease is contracted patients effectively have it for life. Datamonitor's research suggests that the most successful method for mass immunization would be to vaccinate preadolescent girls. However, this initiative could well be hindered by cost, an already crowded pediatric immunization schedule, and the question of whether it is morally acceptable to immunize children against a sexually transmitted disease.

Datamonitor's new analysis, "Strategic Perspectives: Herpes," finds that while 57% of patients who recognize that they are carrying the symptoms of HSV-2 genital herpes visit a doctor regarding their infection, only 20% are prescribed any pharmaceutical treatment. With no drug available that can completely cure the illness, Datamonitor believes that the main factor hindering the number of prescriptions written is a lack of confidence on the part of doctors in the efficacy of available treatments.

GlaxoSmithKline is currently developing the most advanced HSV vaccine, Simplirix, which is expected to hit the market in 2004. However, clinical trials, to date, suggest that this product will only be effective in women who have never been exposed to HSV-1, the virus that causes ...