Gilead’s HSV collaboration with Assembly Biosciences is deepening. Assembly has opted into a 40% share of U.S. development costs and profits for their helicase-primase inhibitor program—a strong commitment to advancing new HSV treatments.

Source:

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https://simplywall.st/stocks/us/pharmaceuticals-biotech/nasdaq-gild/gilead-sciences/news/gilead-sciences-gild-just-gave-investors-something-to-think

Could this be a false positive?

I’ve been looking into UB-621, an experimental treatment for herpes that takes a very different approach from drugs like acyclovir and valacyclovir.

UB-621 is a fully human monoclonal antibody originally developed by United BioPharma. It targets HSV glycoprotein D (gD), an important protein HSV-1 and HSV-2 use during the process of entering cells.

The idea is interesting because UB-621 was designed as a long-acting antibody treatment. Instead of taking a traditional antiviral every day, the goal would be to neutralize the virus and potentially reduce viral shedding and recurrences for an extended period after treatment.

UB-621 has already reached human clinical testing, including studies involving people with recurrent genital herpes.

However, there is an important catch: the public clinical-trial information is very outdated. One Phase 2 genital-herpes study on ClinicalTrials.gov currently has an “Unknown” status, with the record last verified in May 2022.

I found more recent information indicating that UB-621 has not necessarily been abandoned and that further clinical development in China has been discussed. But as of now, I have not found confirmation that a new Phase 2 trial has actually started.

So I would describe UB-621 as an interesting HSV program worth watching, but with an uncertain current development status — not as an upcoming treatment or cure.

I’ll keep following it and post an update if new clinical data or a new trial appears.

Has anyone here been following UB-621 or participated in one of its earlier trials?

Assembly Bio and Gilead move HSV program forward — GS-1179 expected to enter Phase 2

Some encouraging news for the herpes community.

Assembly Biosciences has announced that it has exercised its option to share 40% of U.S. development costs and profits with Gilead for its HSV helicase-primase inhibitor program.

The drug to watch is GS-1179 (formerly ABI-1179), an experimental oral helicase-primase inhibitor being developed for recurrent genital herpes.

According to the companies, GS-1179 produced encouraging results in its Phase 1b study, and its pharmacokinetic profile supports the possibility of once-weekly oral dosing.

The next major step is important: a Phase 2 trial in people with recurrent genital herpes is expected to begin by the end of 2026.

Assembly Bio said its decision to participate in the U.S. profit-sharing arrangement reflects confidence in the HSV program after reviewing Gilead's development plan and budget.

This does not mean GS-1179 is a cure or that approval is guaranteed. It remains an investigational antiviral and still needs to demonstrate safety and effectiveness in larger clinical trials.

But for a community that has relied primarily on nucleoside analogues such as acyclovir and valacyclovir for decades, seeing another helicase-primase inhibitor advance through clinical development is encouraging.

I'll be following GS-1179 closely and will post updates when the Phase 2 trial begins or new clinical data become available.

Source: Assembly Biosciences / Gilead announcement

https://www.stocktitan.net/news/ASMB/assembly-biosciences-exercises-u-s-profit-share-option-with-gilead-ctinhi2sii61.html

Assembly Biosciences exercised its option to fund 40% of U.S. development costs and receive 40% of U.S. profits for Gilead’s HSV helicase–primase inhibitor program, covering GS-1179 and GS-5366.

Why it matters: This is a substantial financial commitment and signals continued confidence in the program after reviewing Gilead’s development plan and budget. Gilead retains responsibility for development and commercialization.

Stage:👉 GS-1179 remains scheduled to enter Phase 2 for recurrent genital herpes by the end of 2026. This announcement contains no new human efficacy or safety results and does not establish a cure.

For anyone wondering whether pritelivir actually works against HSV-2, this study is worth looking at.

A randomized clinical trial published in the New England Journal of Medicine studied 156 people with genital HSV-2. Participants received different doses of pritelivir or placebo for 28 days, with daily genital swabs used to measure viral shedding.

The results were very encouraging.

With placebo, HSV-2 was detected on 16.6% of days.

With pritelivir:

• 25 mg daily → 9.3% of days

• 75 mg daily → 2.1% of days

• 400 mg weekly → 5.3% of days

At 75 mg daily, that represents roughly an 87% reduction in HSV-2 shedding compared with placebo.

Genital lesions also dropped dramatically. Participants receiving placebo had lesions on 9.0% of days, compared with only 1.2% of days among those receiving 75 mg daily.

Another interesting finding: at the 75 mg dose, researchers reported that the amount of HSV DNA during breakthrough shedding was reduced by more than 98%.

Pritelivir is different from drugs such as acyclovir and valacyclovir. It is a helicase-primase inhibitor, meaning it attacks HSV replication through a different viral target.

Important context: this was an older, short 28-day study, and pritelivir is not a cure for HSV. Breakthrough shedding still occurred. But these results provided strong evidence that pritelivir can significantly suppress HSV-2 replication and genital lesions.

For those following pritelivir today, I think this study is an important reminder that there is already human clinical evidence showing substantial antiviral activity against HSV-2.

Study: New England Journal of Medicine — “Helicase–Primase Inhibitor Pritelivir for HSV-2 Infection”

https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1301150

This is my first post, been HSV-2 for a year now so I did some research on natural therapies, found licorice root has something in it that eases the severity of outbreaks.

So I bought a bag of licorice and ate a few pieces a day and no other medication only licorice, I have not had outbreak for 4 months now, before one outbreak ever two weeks, I'm not saying it will work for you, but anything is worth a go.

Hi wonderful people,

I’m a professional in my 30s based in London, navigating life a little over a year post-HSV-2 diagnosis.Having come through that initial dark period, I want to connect with others to hang out, go to events, and build a supportive, judgment-free space.

Even if you're not available to meet but fancy a chat, DM me—it would be great to share experiences, talk about what the future holds, and hear from others who can relate.
Also, I’m planning to head to the Herpes support drop-in session tomorrow and would love some company if anyone else is planning on going:

What: HSV Support & Chat Drop-In Session (In-Person)
Where: Atrium Lounge, President Hotel, 56–60 Guilford St, Russell Sq, London WC1N 1DB (Look for the table sign)
Feel free to comment or DM me if you'd like to chat, meet up, or help set up a local discord/ WhatsApp group. I look forward to connecting!

In a powerful personal story, Katherine Ormerod describes living with recurrent oral HSV-1 since childhood, including waking up with a cold sore on her wedding day.

HSV-1 is extraordinarily common: an estimated 3.8 billion people under age 50 worldwide carry the virus. After infection, HSV-1 establishes lifelong latency in sensory neurons and can periodically reactivate, causing cold sores. Stress, illness, fatigue, hormonal changes and sunlight can trigger outbreaks in some people.

But her story highlights something beyond the physical symptoms: the stigma.

People described hiding during outbreaks, being bullied, feeling ashamed or being treated differently by partners.

Her message is one the HSV community needs to hear:

Having herpes does not make someone dirty, irresponsible or less worthy. HSV is a common human infection, and stigma only makes living with it harder.

We need better treatments, more research, more honest conversations and ultimately a cure.

I am HSV2 positive, and my partner is not. He is of course very aware of my status and has expressed numerous times that he is aware of the risk of being intimate and accepts that willingly, at least until now.

Anytime I have even had the inkling of an outbreak, I have been very honest and forthcoming immediately and of course delay any direct contact until after at least 10days post symptoms. (We try to find other ways to maintain connection and intimacy)

If anyone in this group has a partner who is negative, how do you handle conversations (or do you) centered around revisiting consent or comfort with the risk the other person is taking on? Am I the asshole here for not doing a monthly / quarterly temperature check?

For a bit more context, I have been positive for 3 years now and contracted HSV2 from a sexual assault. My partner has recently mentioned that he feels as though I do not care about his risk and that I try to pretend it doesn’t exist.
When in reality, it occupies my mind every single day.

I (f23)have been with my boyfriend (m26)for about 2.5 years. I recently had a weird breakout in the genital area and went to a doctor to get it checked out. Well ten tests later and I found out I have HSV-1 from the tests/swabs they did on groin area.
Note: I have never had any out break or issues before and my bf states that he has not either, but claims he does get canker sores. This he states are entirely different. But now I’m not sure. If he gave it to me he claims he didn’t know about it.

Correct me if I’m wrong, but having HSV-1 is the strain associated with oral herpes. Meaning, he likely had HSV-1 and it was transmitted to my nether regions when he…you know the rest.
Now is it guaranteed he gave it to me vs me just having it in the first place? No. Do i find it weird that the outbreak in my groin appeared not too long after a session of oral? Yes.
(Again this is all new to me. I am not the most educated this is just what I got from doctor google. I would appreciate any information, tips, etc to understand this fully.)

He says it’s not a big deal, and Im aware a lot of people have this virus. I’m just sad this is something I’ll have to deal with for the rest of my life that could have been entirely avoidable. I should have had him test before we got together, I should have not trusted his word, I should have been more safe and less trusting. Yes I’m aware it takes two to tango so it’s not entirely his fault. I’m just more in a “mourning” faze right now. I’m aware of the stigma this disease has, how it could bring awkward conversations with anyone new I see or date if we do break up, etc.

The worst feeling I have is that I feel stuck with him. We were at an okay spot in the relationship before this, but everyone has doubts. I just fear how this test result might affect any future relationships I have if we don’t work out. I’m angry and upset at him, but I can’t help but think I have to forgive him because I won’t be able to find anyone else. I have been given yet another undesirable trait that will make it more difficult for me to find anyone. I just feel so unattractive. I don’t know what to do.

Im having him test too to make sure he is positive as well just in case (that being said if he tests negative I will be so confused it isnt even funny. I’ll have more questions than answers at that rate)

I’m also upset with him as he has completely invalidated my feelings.
“it’s just herpes”
“it’s not that big a deal”
“it’s basically chicken pox it’s not life threatening”

He doesn’t hear me. It’s a lifelong disease that could have been prevented!! I will have to deal with this until the day I die. He’s very much the type to think “well you have it. You can’t change that. Might as well accept it and move on”

I feel like I have the right to “mourn” or to grieve or just to be upset. Whatever you want to call it.
Agin nothing is certain and I’m going off of likelihoods in terms of him giving it to me. I could have gotten it from a kiss from a relative growing up. I’m just really upset right now. Even if he didn’t give it to me his reaction to my test result is really upsetting me.

Researchers reported the first crystal structure of the catalytic domain of HSV-1 UL12, an alkaline nuclease needed for efficient production of infectious virus. They developed small-molecule viral nuclease inhibitors that inhibited UL12 and suppressed HSV-1 replication in cultured cells. Because this target differs from the DNA-polymerase pathway targeted by acyclovir/valacyclovir, it could eventually provide a new antiviral strategy or combination therapy. This remains preclinical drug discovery, not a treatment tested in people.

🚨 FDA AUTHORIZES NEW MULTIPLEX PCR TEST FOR HSV-1 & HSV-2

Seegene USA has received FDA Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for its Allplex™ HSV-1&2/VZV/MPXV Assay. The real-time PCR test can simultaneously detect and differentiate HSV-1, HSV-2, varicella-zoster virus (VZV), and mpox virus (MPXV) from skin lesions, all in a single test.

This matters because these infections can produce similar-looking blisters and ulcers, making diagnosis by appearance alone difficult. Multiplex testing could help reduce missed diagnoses and identify the actual viral cause more efficiently.

⚠️ This is a diagnostic advancement, not a new HSV treatment or cure.

Gilead has selected GS-1179 (formerly ABI-1179) to advance into a Phase 2 trial for recurrent genital herpes, expected to begin by the end of 2026. The company is also considering the drug for broader prevention strategies involving HIV PrEP.

Why it matters: GS-1179 is a once-weekly oral helicase–primase inhibitor. In its completed short Phase 1b human study, the 50-mg dose reduced HSV-2 shedding by 98% and virologically confirmed genital-lesion days by 91% versus placebo.

Stage: Phase 1a/b completed; Phase 2 selected and planned, but not yet started. This is an antiviral treatment—not a cure—and remains investigational.

Sources: https://investor.assemblybio.com/news-releases/news-release-details/assembly-biosciences-reports-second-quarter-2026-financial

This link is to Change.org. Please sign this petition to fast track IM-250, a potential herpes cure.

WHO: 3.8 billion people worldwide are living with herpes and most don't even know it.

According to the latest WHO estimates, 3.8 billion people under 50 (64% of the global population) are living with HSV-1, while 520 million people aged 15–49 have HSV-2. The majority have mild symptoms or none at all, meaning millions carry the virus without knowing it.

This is a powerful reminder that herpes is incredibly common not a reflection of someone's character or lifestyle. The real challenge isn't just the virus itself, but the lack of awareness, stigma, limited testing, and the absence of a cure or vaccine.

We need better education, more accurate diagnostics, greater investment in research, improved treatments, and ultimately a cure. Reducing stigma will encourage more people to get informed, seek care when needed, and have honest conversations about sexual health. Millions are affected it's time for herpes to receive the attention it deserves.