Ebviously GmbH, a spin-off from Helmholtz Munich (HMGU), has presented new in vitro data for its Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) vaccine candidate EBV-001. Based on noninfectious virus-like particles (VLPs) derived from EBV, EBV-001 is designed as a highly immunogenic, multiantigen vaccine to prevent EBV-associated diseases, such as infectious mononucleosis.

An experimental vaccine that contained antigens of both lytic and latent phases of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), and induced both an antibody and a T cells response, was able to generate broad and long-lasting immunity against EBV in mouse models of infection. Researchers from the QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute and Elicio Therapeutics Inc. reported those results online in Nature Communications on Aug. 8, 2023.

For some viruses, the challenge to developing a vaccine is their rapid mutation rate. This is the major challenge to developing an HIV vaccine or a universal flu vaccine. EBV is different. Its superpower is its ability to hide.

A team of scientists led by The Wistar Institute has been awarded a 5-year National Cancer Institute (NCI) Program Project Grant valued at more than $12 million to explore the role of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) in epithelial cancers. The project, which brings together scientists from The Wistar Institute and Harvard University, will focus entirely on the EBV-epithelial cancer link and look at metabolic and epigenetic vulnerabilities simultaneously.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is and remains “a problem in the immune system” Stephen Sawcer told BioWorld. As in other autoimmune diseases, a faulty immune system attacks otherwise healthy tissues that it should be leaving alone. In the case of MS, the tissue in question is oligodendrocytes. And a study published online in Nature on June 28, 2023, suggests that while MS’ beginnings are autoimmune, the path it takes in an individual patient is determined in part by how well the brain can cope with the autoimmune attack.

Modex Therapeutics Inc., an Opko Health Inc. company, has entered into an exclusive worldwide license and collaboration agreement with Merck & Co. Inc., for the development of MDX-2201, Modex's preclinical nanoparticle vaccine candidate targeting Epstein-Barr virus (EBV).

Another step forward in the quest for an Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) vaccine took the form of Merck & Co. Inc.’s deal with Modex Therapeutics Inc., owned by Opko Health Inc., to advance MDX-2201 worldwide, an arrangement that brings $50 million up front for Opko plus as much as $872.5 million in milestone payments along with royalties.

Researchers at Inserm have developed a method to direct pre-existing antibodies toward new targets. Their bimodular fusion proteins could be a broadly useful method for expanding access to antibody therapy. In a study that appeared in the Feb. 11, 2022, issue of Science Advances, the teams showed that antibodies to Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), which are present in 95% of the global population, could be redirected to a target cell of their choosing by fusing an EBV antigen to a cellular targeting ligand.

Researchers at Inserm have developed a method to direct pre-existing antibodies toward new targets. Their bimodular fusion proteins could be a broadly useful method for expanding access to antibody therapy. In a study that appeared in the Feb. 11, 2022, issue of Science Advances, the teams showed that antibodies to Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), which are present in 95% of the global population, could be redirected to a target cell of their choosing by fusing an EBV antigen to a cellular targeting ligand.

Two studies published this January by separate research teams have conclusively identified Epstein-Barr virus infection as the cause of multiple sclerosis, and the mechanism by which the immune response to EBV infection triggers an attack on the myelin sheath, the insulation that enables high-speed neuronal transmission.