These Two Companies Are Working On The Zika Virus Cure

Mosquitoes have always sucked. They contribute basically nothing to the ecosystem, and they ruin just about every summer outdoor activity. I’ve hated mosquitoes long before I knew what the Zika virus was, and I’ll hate them long after we figure out how to stop it.

The tricky thing about the Zika virus is that it’s often not that bad. Many patients experience just mild symptoms, which can include headaches, rash, fever, and joint pain. The concern is that there is a possible link between Zika fever and microcephaly, a neurological condition that causes abnormally small heads, in newborn babies whose mother had Zika.

While the epidemic has mostly been contained to South America, a growing number of cases have started to pop up in the United States. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) issued a historic travel warning this week, telling pregnant women and their partners to avoid travelling to a small community near Miami where about 15 cases of Zika have appeared.

This is the first time in its history that the CDC has advised citizens to avoid a specific American neighborhood. Furthermore, the Pentagon recently announced that over 30 active-duty American service members, including one pregnant woman, have contracted the virus while serving in areas with known Zika outbreaks.

Of course, this is scary to a lot of people. As a general rule of thumb, parents try to protect their children and provide them with safety. It’s pretty obvious why pregnant women wouldn’t want to be anywhere near a mosquito right now.

As you probably guessed by now, there is no cure for the Zika virus. With thousands of cases popping up and no cure available, people are becoming more and more concerned about Zika, especially with the Rio Olympics starting on August 5. Several athletes from around the globe have opted out of this year’s Games over fears of contracting Zika, and the international travel to the area has the potential to spread the virus around the globe.

While no cure will be available in the near future, a few enterprising companies are already making strides to find a solution for the virus. These things typically take time, but a widespread epidemic like this sometimes sparks innovation. The first company to make a breakthrough here could certainly be in for a big payday.

Leading the Pack

One of the companies fighting the virus is Inovio Pharmaceuticals ( (NASDAQ:INO) ). Inovio has been working on a DNA-based vaccine for the Zika virus since December. The company’s vaccine has seen impressive antibody and T cell responses in small and large animals, and Inovio announced in June that it received approval to initiate a phase I human trial to evaluate the treatment.

The key detail here is that Inovio’s vaccine is DNA-based. Unlike virus-based vaccines, which can take 10-15 years to be approved, DNA-based treatments are seen as safer and the approval process is much more expedited.

The other leader in the fight against Zika is Intrexon ( (NYSE:XON) ). Via Oxitec, a subsidiary that Intrexon purchased last summer, the company is working on what is called a “vector control” program to eliminate the Zika virus.

This program is my personal favorite solution because its goal is to completely wipe out dangerous mosquito populations. The species that carries the Zika virus is called the Aeds aegypti mosquito, and Oxitec’s solution is to kill them all.

Oxitec plans to do this by developing mutant mosquitos and releasing them into the wild. Although I would normally be against intentionally releasing more mosquitos, these mutants create offspring that cannot reproduce. These little scientifically engineered bugs literally eliminate the gene pool. In controlled field trials, this vector control program has reduced Aeds aegypti populations by 92%-99%.

Oxitec announced this week that it has been invited by Florida officials to propose a pilot study in the Florida Keys.

Bottom Line

With the world converging on the hotbed of the Zika virus for the Olympics, this summer is bound to be interesting. You can bet that I’ll my bathing in Off! Spray before I step outside. Of course, what we really need is a permanent solution to this outbreak, and it looks like Inovio and Intrexon are the closest to finding that solution.