Measles treatments draw biotech interest as US cases climb

Measles treatments are drawing new attention from biotech companies and academic labs as U.S. cases rise and vaccination rates fall, WIRED reported. The work matters because doctors still have no measles-specific drug for infected patients or for people who need temporary protection after exposure.

According to WIRED, U.S. measles cases had already exceeded last year’s 2,289 total by July, after large outbreaks in South Carolina and Utah. The country recorded 285 cases in all of 2024.

Measles spreads so easily that communities generally need at least 95% of people to receive both vaccine doses to protect infants too young for vaccination and immunocompromised people, WIRED reported. Rates have fallen below that level in many parts of the country.

What measles treatments are being developed?

Several groups are pursuing monoclonal antibodies, lab-made versions of immune proteins that can block infection or reduce disease. WIRED reported that Invivyd, a Connecticut biotech company that developed a monoclonal antibody for Covid-19, is preparing data it needs before asking the Food and Drug Administration to allow human trials of a measles antibody.

Michael Mina, Invivyd’s chief medical officer and an epidemiologist, told WIRED that the renewed spread of measles has exposed a lack of options after exposure. A monoclonal antibody could be given by injection or IV and might offer short-term protection for people at high risk during a local outbreak.

Researchers at the La Jolla Institute for Immunology are also studying the antibody response to measles. WIRED reported that Erica Ollmann Saphire and colleagues published findings in May describing human antibodies that bind to key parts of the virus; in rodents, an infusion of those antibodies was linked to a 500-fold lower viral load.

Vanderbilt University scientists have identified potent measles antibodies as well, according to WIRED. James Crowe, director of the Vanderbilt Center for Antibody Therapeutics, said his team aims to combine two monoclonal antibodies to reduce the chance that the virus could mutate around the treatment.

Why are measles drugs difficult to bring to patients?

Manufacturing monoclonal antibodies at scale is complex and expensive, WIRED reported, and clinical trials can cost millions of dollars. Drug companies may be cautious because infectious disease treatments are often used for short periods and outbreaks can be sporadic.

Patient cost could also become an issue. WIRED noted that the U.S. government spent $855 million in early 2022 for 1.7 million doses of Evusheld, a Covid-19 monoclonal antibody; although the drug was free to patients, some people faced administration-related out-of-pocket charges.

Regulators would also need to decide how to test new measles therapies. New drugs are usually studied first in adults before children, WIRED reported, while severe measles complications are more likely to hospitalize children, especially those who are unvaccinated.

Antiviral drugs are another possible approach. WIRED reported that Georgia State University researchers tested an oral antiviral in rats, ferrets and dogs infected with related viruses because those animals do not get human measles; treated animals had lower viral loads and survived, but the drug has not been tested in people.

For now, doctors rely on supportive care for measles, including fluids, help with breathing problems and steroids for inflammation, WIRED reported. Vitamin A is sometimes used because measles can reduce levels in the body, but it does not attack the virus itself.

Public acceptance remains uncertain. WIRED reported that some parents in the Utah outbreak refused immune globulin, a donated-plasma antibody treatment, for their children, and Mina said he hopes families wary of vaccines may still accept monoclonal antibodies because they resemble molecules the body makes naturally.

This story draws on original reporting from Ars Technica.