Measles Is Becoming So Common That Treatments May Soon Be Needed - WIRED

What the report says

Wired reports that rising measles cases in the United States and declining vaccination rates are prompting renewed work on treatments for a disease long controlled primarily through immunization. The article says the U.S. has reached its highest measles count in 35 years, with outbreaks in South Carolina and Utah helping push 2025 cases past last year’s total by July. Wired reported 2,289 cases so far this year, compared with 285 in all of 2024.

The main tools under development are monoclonal antibodies, lab-made versions of immune proteins that could be given by injection or IV to people exposed to measles or at high risk, including infants and immunocompromised people. Invivyd, a Connecticut biotech company, has not yet tested its measles antibody in humans but is preparing data for possible FDA clearance to begin trials. Researchers at the La Jolla Institute for Immunology have also identified human antibodies that blocked measles infection in lab work and sharply reduced viral load in rodent experiments, according to Wired.

Vanderbilt University scientists, working with Saravir Biopharma, are pursuing a two-antibody approach intended to reduce the chance of viral escape. Separately, Georgia State University researchers have tested an oral antiviral in animals infected with related viruses; that drug also has not been tried in people. Wired notes that major hurdles remain, including manufacturing costs, trial design, pharmaceutical funding, and the question of whether vaccine-resistant families would accept treatment.

The article emphasizes that vaccination remains the central public health defense: about 95 percent two-dose coverage is needed to protect communities, including people too young or medically unable to be vaccinated. Treatments, if successful, would likely be years away but could provide an additional safeguard during outbreaks.