An investigational Zika vaccine developed by NIAID and the NIH enters phase 1 clinical trials. Photo credit: JAMA

By Jennifer Abbasi

As the first local mosquito-borne transmissions of the Zika virus are being reported in the continental United States, an investigational vaccine developed by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is entering phase 1 clinical trials.

NIAID
At least 80 people between the ages of 18 and 35 years will be enrolled in the trial, which will take place at 3 study sites in the United States including the NIH Clinical Center in Bethesda, Maryland. The trial will test vaccine safety and immunogenicity.

Scientists at NIAID’s Vaccine Research Center developed the DNA vaccine, which does not contain Zika virus and therefore cannot cause an infection. The vaccine contains a genetically engineered plasmid—a small, circular piece of DNA—that encodes Zika virus proteins. These proteins assemble into viruslike particles that provoke an immune response against the virus. This response is composed of both neutralizing antibodies and T cells.

Published by The Journal of the American Medical Association September 27, 2016