Project Team

Vandana Miller, MD Microbiology and Immunology Department

Fred Krebs, PhD Microbiology and Immunology Department

Stephen Jennings, PhD Microbiology and Immunology Department

Brian Wigdahl, PhD Drexel University College of Medicine

Sean Wang, PhD B&W Tek

Ken Li, PhD B&W Tek

Abstract

We are seeking support to further develop an innovative treatment for herpes simplex virus (HSV) infections. The product of our efforts will be a clinical device and method capable of delivering a rapid painless therapy effective against HSV oral and genital infections. The technological basis of this therapy is non-thermal plasma, which has demonstrated antiviral activity against HSV and has the potential to eliminate HSV reemergence through immunomodulation. The target market for this device will be patients who need an effective therapy for recurrent HSV infections. We will access this market through our customers – dermatologists, OB/GYN physicians, urologists, and pediatricians – who will purchase the device (plus services and consumables) in order to deliver this curative therapy to patients. Key advantages of our therapy are (i) treatment is short, painless and non-invasive, (ii) the therapy, unlike standard-of-care drugs, will only need to be administered once and will provide durable drug-free relief, and (iii) the device can be used in office by healthcare professionals with minimal training. By the end of this project, we will demonstrate the device’s antiviral and immunological effectiveness in pre-clinical studies, the results of which will urge our clinical partners to initiate clinical trials of this unique cure.