Zika vaccine efficacy trials could start in 2017

By Jon CohenMay. 3, 2016 

In the most optimistic scenario, a Zika vaccine could prove its worth by the start of 2018, Anthony Fauci, head of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) in Bethesda, Maryland, said today.

NIAID plans to begin tests of a vaccine made in its labs in September in 80 people, said Fauci, who spoke at a press conference held at a meeting on Zika virus risk communication challenges in Washington, D.C. If the vaccine proves safe and capable of stimulating relevant immune responses, he said NIAID plans in the first quarter of 2017 to launch what he called a phase 2b study “in a country that has a very high rate of infection.” That study would enroll thousands of volunteers.  “If in the early part of 2017 we still have major outbreaks in South America and in the Caribbean, we may show that it’s effective or not within a year,” Fauci said.

Several factors will determine how long it takes a trial to determine a vaccine’s worth, he cautioned. One is how well the vaccine works: It’s easy to see a difference between vaccinated people and unvaccinated controls if a candidate product is 100% safe and effective—which rarely is the case.

see more at: http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2016/05/zika-vaccine-efficacy-trials-could-start-2017