Research literature
Key papers and conference reports behind the vaccine candidates we track. Each entry links to the source and carries a neutral summary in our own words — we surface metadata and context, not republished full text. Every entry is labeled with its publication status (peer-reviewed, preprint, or conference abstract) and study type; animal and lab work is not evidence of effect in people.
- A Tissue-Targeted Immunotherapy Protects Against Recurrent Ocular Herpes Infection and Disease, and Alleviates the Associated Cognitive, Behavioral, and Social Deficits in a 'Humanized' HLA Transgenic Mouse Model of UVB-Induced Reactivation
A mouse study tested a T-cell immunotherapy for recurrent HSV-1 eye disease, delivering HSV-1 epitopes by a topical ocular AAV8 vector to mice that were already latently infected. The authors report protection against recurrent disease and better survival after UVB-induced reactivation, with HSV-1-specific T cells accumulating in the cornea and trigeminal ganglia. The authors say the findings support translational potential in humans; the work itself was done in mice.
- A Decade of the Global STI Vaccine Roadmap: Progress, Gaps and Challenges
An article on the global STI vaccine roadmap says that several prophylactic and therapeutic HSV-2 vaccine candidates advanced through the clinical pipeline, but most were discontinued for scientific or strategic reasons. It reports that Moderna halted mRNA-1608 in November 2025 while BNT163 continues in active clinical evaluation.
- HSV-2 gC2 mRNA immunization in mice protects by producing antibodies that bind immune evasion epitopes
A mouse study of an HSV-2 gC2 nucleoside-modified mRNA-LNP vaccine component reports protection against intravaginal HSV-2 challenge, including at the lowest dose tested. Passive transfer of gC2 monoclonal antibodies protected when the antibodies blocked C3b binding, while a neutralizing antibody that did not block C3b binding failed to protect. The experiments described were done in mice.
- The native conformational landscape and priming mechanism of herpes simplex virus glycoprotein B
A structural study reports cryo-EM structures of HSV-1 glycoprotein B (gB) taken from virions, finding mainly a prefusion state and a minor intermediate primed state. The authors also captured a further intermediate, the deep-primed state, in a mutant and engineered gB mutants locked in distinct conformations. The work is structural and laboratory-based; no immunization or protection data are reported, and the authors frame the mutants as intended for future vaccine evaluation.
- Glycoprotein G enables HSV-2 neuroinvasion and provides protection as a glycosylated vaccine antigen
A mouse study examined membrane-associated glycoprotein G of HSV-2 (mgG-2) both as a factor in infection and as a recombinant vaccine antigen. Mice immunized three times with the glycosylated antigen and then challenged genitally survived more often, had lower disease scores and had less viral DNA in nerve tissue than mice immunized with the same antigen stripped of both its N- and O-linked sugars. The work is preclinical — this study reports no vaccination data in people — and the authors state that animal vaccine models have so far not predicted clinical outcomes.
- Immunogenicity and Efficacy of a Trivalent HSV-2 gC2, gD2, gE2 Nucleoside-Modified mRNA-LNP Vaccine Against HSV-1 Eye Infection and Neuroinvasion in Mice
A preclinical, peer-reviewed mouse study from the University of Pennsylvania group (Friedman, Cohen, Awasthi and colleagues) testing their trivalent gC2/gD2/gE2 nucleoside-modified mRNA-LNP vaccine — the same design behind BNT163 — against HSV-1 eye infection and spread to the nervous system. Findings are in an animal model and do not, on their own, establish protection in humans.
- Safety and Immunogenicity of BNT163, a Trivalent mRNA HSV Vaccine Candidate for Genital Herpes
A conference abstract (IDWeek 2025) reporting early safety and immune-response data from the first-in-human Phase 1 trial of BioNTech's trivalent mRNA candidate BNT163. As a Phase 1 report it addresses safety and immunogenicity, not whether the vaccine prevents genital herpes, and as a conference abstract it has not undergone full peer-reviewed publication.
- mRNA-1608, an mRNA-Based Therapeutic Genital Herpes Vaccine Candidate: Interim Safety, Immunogenicity and Clinical Endpoint Results from a Phase 1/2 Trial
A conference abstract (IDWeek 2025) reporting interim safety, immunogenicity, and clinical-endpoint results from the Phase 1/2 dose-ranging trial of Moderna's therapeutic candidate mRNA-1608. The results are interim and from a conference abstract; Moderna discontinued the program in November 2025 as part of a portfolio prioritization, not a reported safety failure.