SEATTLE, WA — For an associate professor of biochemistry at the University of Washington School of Medicine, respiratory syncytial virus is personal.
“Two of my three daughters were hospitalized with RSV when they were young,” he said.
And that ambition to help others is what keeps him going. RSV Vaccine Research Front.
“I originally entered the path of science out of a desire to help people. I wanted to invent new medicines to help people. So I am personally very happy that a vaccine is now being developed and used,” he explained.
By the age of three, most Americans have the disease. Doctors often say the virus presents as a cold, but RSV can lead to hospitalization in babies and other susceptible populations.
The disease has become so common and harmful that King and other researchers at the UW School of Medicine are working on a vaccine made with nanoparticle technology.
“We sent the vaccine to a spin-out company. icosabax, and they recently reported very positive phase 1 clinical trial data. So that candidate is currently being tested in humans and seems to be doing very well,” King said.
The technology was developed within the UW School of Medicine.
“We are currently testing self-assembling protein nanoparticle technology in a number of vaccine indications and they tend to be very consistent. We can see that it makes the protection more durable,” explained King.
King said he hopes a vaccine will be available to the public within a few years if further trials are successful.
“It feels like we are finally at the starting line. The world is right in front of us, and I feel there are so many problems to solve. I hope it can be resolved quickly, it is very motivating and energizing because there are so many other problems to solve.”
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