Novavax, Inc., a Delaware Corporation biopharmaceutical company, announced that several candidates have emerged from an ongoing discovery programme to create a novel vaccine for preventing disease associated with the varicella zoster virus (VZV) in older adults.

The candidates have met certain significant scientific criteria established by the company and are now targeted for pre-clinical development. The chickenpox virus, VZV causes herpes zoster, or shingles, which is a skin rash often with painful blisters. Anyone who has had chickenpox can develop shingles because VZV remains dormant in the nerve cells and may re-emerge after many years later by causing the illness. Shingles may affect any age group but occurs most frequently in adults of 60 years of age and the less immune persons, a company press release said.

As per the company reports, the illness is common, resulting in over one million cases in the United States each year. The primary complication of shingles includes acute pain, called post-herpetic neuralgia (PHN), and occurs in approximately 65% of affected patients. Shingles-associated pain may last months, or even years, and can have a negative impact on quality of life. It is also associated with high rates of hospitalisation in older adults. The advisory committee on immunization practices (ACIP), a federal body of immunization experts, currently recommends vaccination for all individuals of 60 years of age or older. The potential worldwide market for a VZV vaccine in older adults is estimated to exceed $1 billion annually with currently only one product on the market.

"We believe VZV is a strategic target for Novavax to pursue because of our expertise in infectious diseases and our proprietary vaccine and manufacturing technologies. Consistent with our strategy to expand our vaccine pipeline, this new program addresses a significant unmet medical need and represents an important opportunity to enhance shareholder value," said, Dr. Rahul Singhvi, president and CEO, Novarex.