Zika virus vaccines and monoclonal antibodies: a priority agenda for research and development

Julia T Ostrowsky¹, Leah C Katzelnick², Nigel Bourne³, Alan D T Barrett⁴, Stephen J Thomas⁵, Michael S Diamond⁶, David W C Beasley⁷, Eva Harris⁸, Annelies Wilder-Smith⁹, Tabitha Leighton¹, Angela J Mehr¹, Nicolina M Moua¹, Angela K Ulrich¹, Ana Cehovin¹⁰, Petra C Fay¹⁰, Josephine P Golding¹⁰, Kristine A Moore¹, Michael T Osterholm¹, Eve M Lackritz¹¹; Zika Expert Workgroup

Collaborators, Affiliations

Collaborators

Zika Expert Workgroup:
Kristina M Adams Waldorf¹², Alan D T Barrett¹², David W C Beasley¹², Joseph Y B Bennie¹³, Nigel Bourne¹², Aaron C Brault¹², Ana Cehovin¹⁴, Christiane Coelho¹⁵, Michael S Diamond¹², Devy Emperador¹⁶, Nuno R Faria¹⁴, Petra C Fay¹⁴, Josephine P Golding¹⁴, Eva Harris¹², Nagwa Hasanin¹⁷, Thomas Jaenisch¹², Albert I Ko¹², Eve M Lackritz¹², Tabitha Leighton¹², Yee-Sin Leo¹⁸, Angela J Mehr¹², Ziad A Memish¹⁹, Jairo A Méndez-Rico¹², Kristine A Moore¹², Manuela Mura²⁰, Lee-Ching Ng¹⁸, Michael T Osterholm¹², Julia T Ostrowsky¹², Rosanna W Peeling¹⁴, Ingrid B Rabe¹⁶, Henrik Salje¹⁴, J Erin Staples¹², Stephen J Thomas¹², Angela K Ulrich¹², Jessica Vanhomwegen²¹, Jurai Wongsawat²²

Affiliations

¹ Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA.
² Viral Epidemiology and Immunity Unit, Laboratory of Infectious Diseases, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
³ Sealy Institute for Vaccine Sciences, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX, USA; Department of Pediatrics, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX, USA.
⁴ Sealy Institute for Vaccine Sciences, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX, USA; Department of Pathology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX, USA.
⁵ Department of Microbiology and Immunology, State University of New York (SUNY) Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY, USA; Institute for Global Health and Translational Sciences, State University of New York (SUNY) Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY, USA.
⁶ Department of Pathology and Immunology and Center for Genome Sciences, Lab and Genomic Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, MO, USA.
⁷ Sealy Institute for Vaccine Sciences, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX, USA; Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX, USA.
⁸ Division of Infectious Diseases and Vaccinology, School of Public Health, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA.
⁹ Immunization, Vaccines, and Biologicals, World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland.
¹⁰ Infectious Disease Strategic Programme, Wellcome Trust, London, UK.
¹¹ Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA. Electronic address: lackritz@umn.edu.
¹² USA.
¹³ Ghana.
¹⁴ UK.
¹⁵ Brazil.
¹⁶ Switzerland.
¹⁷ Denmark.
¹⁸ Singapore.
¹⁹ Saudi Arabia.
²⁰ The Netherlands.
²¹ France.
²² Thailand.

PMID: 40024262
PMCID: PMC12356332
DOI: 10.1016/S1473-3099(24)00750-3

Review

Zika virus vaccines and monoclonal antibodies: a priority agenda for research and development

Julia T Ostrowsky et al. Lancet Infect Dis. 2025 Jul.

. 2025 Jul;25(7):e402-e415.

doi: 10.1016/S1473-3099(24)00750-3. Epub 2025 Feb 27.

Authors

Collaborators

Zika Expert Workgroup:
Kristina M Adams Waldorf¹², Alan D T Barrett¹², David W C Beasley¹², Joseph Y B Bennie¹³, Nigel Bourne¹², Aaron C Brault¹², Ana Cehovin¹⁴, Christiane Coelho¹⁵, Michael S Diamond¹², Devy Emperador¹⁶, Nuno R Faria¹⁴, Petra C Fay¹⁴, Josephine P Golding¹⁴, Eva Harris¹², Nagwa Hasanin¹⁷, Thomas Jaenisch¹², Albert I Ko¹², Eve M Lackritz¹², Tabitha Leighton¹², Yee-Sin Leo¹⁸, Angela J Mehr¹², Ziad A Memish¹⁹, Jairo A Méndez-Rico¹², Kristine A Moore¹², Manuela Mura²⁰, Lee-Ching Ng¹⁸, Michael T Osterholm¹², Julia T Ostrowsky¹², Rosanna W Peeling¹⁴, Ingrid B Rabe¹⁶, Henrik Salje¹⁴, J Erin Staples¹², Stephen J Thomas¹², Angela K Ulrich¹², Jessica Vanhomwegen²¹, Jurai Wongsawat²²

Affiliations

¹ Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA.
² Viral Epidemiology and Immunity Unit, Laboratory of Infectious Diseases, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
³ Sealy Institute for Vaccine Sciences, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX, USA; Department of Pediatrics, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX, USA.
⁴ Sealy Institute for Vaccine Sciences, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX, USA; Department of Pathology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX, USA.
⁵ Department of Microbiology and Immunology, State University of New York (SUNY) Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY, USA; Institute for Global Health and Translational Sciences, State University of New York (SUNY) Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY, USA.
⁶ Department of Pathology and Immunology and Center for Genome Sciences, Lab and Genomic Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, MO, USA.
⁷ Sealy Institute for Vaccine Sciences, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX, USA; Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX, USA.
⁸ Division of Infectious Diseases and Vaccinology, School of Public Health, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA.
⁹ Immunization, Vaccines, and Biologicals, World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland.
¹⁰ Infectious Disease Strategic Programme, Wellcome Trust, London, UK.
¹¹ Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA. Electronic address: lackritz@umn.edu.
¹² USA.
¹³ Ghana.
¹⁴ UK.
¹⁵ Brazil.
¹⁶ Switzerland.
¹⁷ Denmark.
¹⁸ Singapore.
¹⁹ Saudi Arabia.
²⁰ The Netherlands.
²¹ France.
²² Thailand.

PMID: 40024262
PMCID: PMC12356332
DOI: 10.1016/S1473-3099(24)00750-3

Abstract

The 2015-16 Zika virus epidemic in the Americas drew global attention to Zika virus infection as a cause of microcephaly and Guillain-Barré syndrome. The epidemic highlighted the urgent need for preventive measures, including vaccines and monoclonal antibodies (mAbs). However, nearly 9 years later, no licensed Zika virus vaccines or mAbs are available, leaving the world's populations unprotected from ongoing disease transmission and future epidemics. The current low Zika virus incidence and unpredictability of future outbreaks complicates prospects for evaluation, licensure, and commercial viability of Zika virus vaccines and mAbs. We conducted an extensive review of Zika virus vaccines and mAbs in development, identifying 16 vaccines in phase 1 or phase 2 trials and three mAbs in phase 1 trials, and convened a 2-day meeting of 130 global Zika virus experts to discuss research priorities to advance their development. This Series paper summarises a priority research agenda to address key knowledge gaps and accelerate the licensure of Zika virus vaccines and mAbs for global use.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of interests This project was funded by the Wellcome Trust, grant 226438/Z/22/Z awarded to the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota. LCK is supported by the US National Institutes of Health (NIH). ADTB and DWCB declare a subcontract from Hawaii Biotech related to testing of West Nile virus vaccine candidates in small animal models. EH declares grant U01 AI153416 from the NIH. SJT declares a previous grant from NIH National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease on dengue (which included Zika epidemiology) and a previous contract with Moderna as a Data and Safety Monitory Board member for a Zika vaccine trial (activities completed), contracts for dengue committee memberships, and a patent and royalties related to his role as inventor of a Zika vaccine candidate, ZPIV (patent awarded by the US Patent and Trademark Office), and all rights assigned to the US Army. MSD declares grants from Moderna, Vir Biotechnology, Bavarian Nordic, and IntegerBio; royalties or licenses from Ocugen, AstraZeneca, and BharatBiotech; consulting fees from Moderna, InBios, GlaxoSmithKline, Merck, IntegerBio, Vir Biotechnology, and Akagera Medicines; and stock or stock options from IntegerBio and Vir Biotechnology. Wellcome Trust provided travel support to the December, 2023, meeting on Zika and arboviruses for JTO, EH, EML, ADTB, DWCB, NB, TL, AJM, AKU, MTO, and SJT. All other authors declare no competing interests. No authors were paid by a pharmaceutical company to write this Series paper. The authors alone are responsible for the views expressed in this article and they do not necessarily represent the views, decisions, or policies of the institutions with which they are affiliated. Mention of trade names is for information only and does not imply endorsement.

References

1. Hcini N, Lambert V, Picone O, et al. Arboviruses and pregnancy: are the threats visible or hidden? Trop Dis Travel Med Vaccines 2024; 10: 4. - PMC - PubMed
1. de Oliveira WK, de França GVA, Carmo EH, Duncan BB, de Souza Kuchenbecker R, Schmidt MI. Infection-related microcephaly after the 2015 and 2016 Zika virus outbreaks in Brazil: a surveillance-based analysis. Lancet 2017; 390: 861–70. - PubMed
1. Musso D, Ko AI, Baud D. Zika virus infection—after the pandemic. N Engl J Med 2019; 381: 1444–57. - PubMed
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1. WHO. Zika epidemiology update. June 3, 2024. https://www.who.int/publications/m/item/zika-epidemiology-update-may-2024 (accessed June 3, 2024).

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Zika virus vaccines and monoclonal antibodies: a priority agenda for research and development

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Zika virus vaccines and monoclonal antibodies: a priority agenda for research and development

Authors

Collaborators

Affiliations

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Conflict of interest statement

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