Developing herpesvirus vaccines and vaccine vectors for the animal health and human health markets, the vaccines developed by Thyreos Inc are based on a recombinant herpes virus platform that elicits robust immune responses without infecting the nervous system. Known for causing cold sores and genital sores, herpes simplex viruses are part of the herpesvirus family - a family that also includes varicella zoster virus -- the causative agent of chickenpox and shingles -- and many veterinary pathogens that share a unique property: an ability robustly to invade the nervous system and quietly to reside there lifelong. Periodic reactivation of the latent infection results in the contagious shedding of infectious virus, which is often associated with mild or sometimes severe disease.
