Our CMV vaccine candidate targets a key unmet need worldwide. CMV is the most common virus that most people have never heard of, even though it has now been identified as a high priority for vaccines development by key authorities such as the FDA and Institute of Medicine.

In the developed world, CMV infects 50-80% of adults before they reach their fortieth birthday and around 30% of children under five years old. It is even more widespread in developing countries. Infection is typically asymptomatic and not harmful to healthy individuals. However, the virus can cause serious complications in groups with weak immune systems such as elderly people, transplant recipients and infants infected in utero. In these patients, infection can cause severe and life-threatening complications including birth defects and organ failure.

Congenital CMV occurs when CMV is transferred from a pregnant woman to her fetus in utero and has a very high disease burden. In many parts of the world it is second only to cerebral palsy as a cause of serious infant malformation. In the United States 5,000 infants each year develop permanent conditions including deafness, blindness and neurologic disorders from CMV. Overall, it affects more live births in the US than Fetal Alcohol Syndrome or Down’s and is estimated to generate over $2 billion in healthcare costs annually.