In 2023, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) launched the Strategic Plan for Herpes Simplex Virus Research. This initiative focuses on understanding HSV, accelerating research, finding a cure, and preventing herpes altogether.
One promising lead is at the Fred Hutch Cancer Center in Washington, where researchers have found early evidence that an experimental gene therapy removed around 90% of the oral herpes virus and 97% of the genital herpes virus in test subjects—and it also reduced virus transmissibility. This therapy uses gene-editing molecules to target and remove the virus in the body. This study is particular to reducing HSV-1, but scientists are hopeful it could be expanded to HSV-2 as well.
This research is still in the pre-clinical stage, with testing being conducted on rodents and not yet on humans. The researchers at Fred Hutch Cancer Center are working to comply with federal regulations before they start clinical trials with human participants. However, even though it may be several years before this gene therapy is proven effective and released, these early results are promising for people living with HSV.
In addition to the study at Fred Hutch, there are several other preclinical and early clinical studies either completed or in the works, and scientists in the U.S. continue to lobby for more government funding so that even more research can be conducted.