HE brought us the cervical cancer vaccine and now Professor Ian Frazer has had early success in trials for a new jab to treat the herpes simplex virus.

And he is also working on developing a separate treatment for the HPV virus that causes cervical cancer.

This treatment would be useful for women who are too old to have received the cervical cancer vaccine and who are already carrying the HPV virus that causes cervical cancer.

Australian healthcare group Admedus announced to the stock exchange on Thursday the results of the Phase 1 trial of Professor Frazer’s new vaccine to treat the herpes simplex virus HSV2.

Nineteen of the 20 people in the trial had produced T-cells in response against HSV2 which causes genital herpes, the announcement said.

The Phase 1 trial tested the vaccine for safety and efficacy in uninfected humans and it will now be tested in a larger group of people who are infected with HSV2.

VACCINE SUCCESS: Cervical cancer numbers reduced

SKIN CANCER VACCINE: A new hope for sufferers

Around one in six Australians carry the virus that causes itchy skin lesions, up to one in four Australians aged 40-49 have the virus.

Admedus science officer David Rhodes said the primary goal of the new vaccine was not to prevent the spread of herpes simplex but to treat it.

“We want to reduce the frequency of the lesions,” he said.

Over time the trials will be extended to test whether the vaccine also works to prevent the spread of the virus but this type of study takes a long period and must involve lots of people.

The Phase 1 trial produced a T-cell response in 95 per cent of the humans it was tested in.

T cells are killer cells that detect cells infected with a virus and kill them.

The study found variable evidence that the vaccine produced and antibody response to herpes simplex.

Mr Rhodes said the Phase 1 trial had given an indication of what strengths of the vaccine worked best and should be further tested.

If further testing was successful he said the treatment vaccine could be on the market within five years.

It was an Australian treatment vaccine being produced by an Australian company, he said.

He said Professor Frazer was also working with Admedus to produce a treatment vaccine for the HPV viruses that cause cervical cancer.

“That program is running one step behind the Herpes simplex vaccine, it’s not quite at Phase 1 trials stage yet,” he said.

Professor Frazer is also interested in developing a vaccine for some skin cancers.