Army's Zika vaccine phase 1 trials prove successful

Three phase 1 human clinical trials evaluating an Army-developed Zika purified inactivated virus, or ZPIV vaccine have shown it was safe and well-tolerated in healthy adults, and induced a robust immune response. Initial findings from the trials were published Tuesday in The Lancet.



Each of the three studies included in the paper was designed to address a unique question about background immunity, vaccine dose or vaccination schedule. A fourth trial with ZPIV is still underway in Puerto Rico, where the population has natural exposure to other viruses in the same family as Zika, or flaviviruses, such as dengue.



"It is imperative to develop a vaccine that prevents severe birth defects and other neurologic complications in babies caused by Zika virus infection during pregnancy," said Kayvon Modjarrad, director for Emerging Infectious Diseases at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, the Zika program co-lead and the article's lead author. "These results give us hope that a safe and effective vaccine will be achievable."



Across the three trials, more than 90% of volunteers who received the vaccine developed an immune response against Zika.