GSK starts final clinical trial of shingles vaccine
More than 30,000 patients to take part worldwide
UK pharmaceutical firm GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has started Phase III clinical trials for its herpes zoster vaccine to prevent shingles.
More than 30,000 patients worldwide will take part in the trial to evaluate the efficacy, safety and immunogenicity of the candidate vaccine.
‘Shingles is an often debilitating condition for which there are limited treatment and prevention options,’ said Norman Begg, chief medical officer of GSK Biologicals, GSK’s vaccines business.
‘That is why progression into late-stage development of our herpes zoster vaccine is an important milestone in ongoing efforts potentially to help address an important unmet need.’
Herpes zoster, commonly known as shingles, is caused by the varicella-zoster virus and usually results in a painful rash on one side of the body. The disease becomes more prevalent with age, and there are an estimated one million cases each year in the US.
