ChimeriVax-St. Louis encephalitis

ChimeriVax-St. Louis encephalitis is a live-attenuated chimeric vaccine candidate developed to provide protection against the St. Louis encephalitis virus (SLEV). The vaccine is constructed using the ChimeriVax platform, which employs the yellow fever virus 17D (YF17D) vaccine strain as a genetic backbone. In this construct, the genes encoding the pre-membrane (prM) and envelope (E) proteins of the YF17D virus are replaced with the homologous genes from SLEV. This results in a chimeric virus that displays SLEV surface antigens, triggering a robust neutralizing antibody response and T-cell mediated immunity, while retaining the safety and replication profile of the attenuated yellow fever vaccine. Originally developed by Acambis (later acquired by Sanofi), the program aimed to address the morbidity associated with SLEV outbreaks in North America, though development has since been deprioritized in favor of other flavivirus vaccines like those for Japanese encephalitis and Dengue.

Other names

SLE-ChimeriVaxChimeric Yellow Fever-St. Louis Encephalitis vaccine