Next-Generation Immunotherapies and Vaccines

Viruses have been frequently engineered as expression vectors with the aim of establishing means for immunotherapy applications and vaccine development. Both DNA and RNA viruses have been utilized for antigen production in immunized animal models for infectious diseases and various cancers eliciting strong immune responses and therapeutic efficacy. Protection against challenges with lethal viruses has been confirmed in rodents and primates. Moreover, immunotherapeutic activity and vaccine efficacy have been established in clinical trials. Several viral vector-based vaccines have been approved such as an adenovirus-based cancer drug for head and neck cancer, a herpes simplex virus-based melanoma drug, adenovirus-based SARS-CoV-2 vaccines, and a vesicular stomatitis virus-based vaccine against Ebola virus disease.