u/FitIndependence9648

So…I notice there’s a message not accounted for that I’m not seeing so I check message requests and there it is: some local guy saying ‘hi’. I’m not on any dating apps and haven’t for years; however, I am in some local community groups like neighborhood stuff, etc. I open the message and ask what it is he is messaging for. So…it becomes obvious quickly he’s looking for a woman. He is cocky and arrogant. He tells me he’s a ‘high value man’…I’m thinking he must be trying to tell me he is wealthy so I look his name up and he’s 57 yrs old and lives in some older apartments close by. Hmmm…so this high value thing must mean he feels he’s a good guy? Then he proceeds to brag to me about how his dad was a NASA scientist and how he’s a Laguna Beach transplant. Then he says but he grew up in the large estate in New Hampshire and kept encouraging me to look it up. Then he told me he ‘knows his worth and will not settle for anything less than what he wants and deserves’. At this point, I am humoring this guy. I just say, oh sounds very nice, etc. Then he sends me a pic of himself at the gym and tells me he looks really good for 57. I’m thinking, eh, looks about right for that age, but continued to let him ramble on. Then he sends me his ‘dating profile pic’. He has a weird look on his face like something from the intro to an 80s soap opera and he’s wearing a lavender dress shirt. I reply that I am not a fan of online dating and quit 3 years ago. He says he only dates educated smart women with careers and they want sex from him by the third date. At this point, I’m fully grossed out and I am done and I block him with no explanation or warning. Then I sit a bit and reflect on this peculiar person. What kind of ‘high value’ man that gets laid on the 3rd date is sending women he doesn’t know messages and then brags how great he is. He actually told me, “I’m a catch” 🤭 This guy is delusional. Notice the canned phrases he used? This is exactly what I am trying to avoid but guys like this come a dime a dozen nowadays.

I have been married twice, both of which were disappointing experiences. I have been divorced 5 years. I tried dating, but it was even worse than the marriages. I do get asked out regularly. I am attractive and fit and I make friends easily, so I must be approachable. Anyways, the only kind of relationship I could have would be a boyfriend that I go out with once a week and we never live together. I work FT, have my own home and I live a pretty good life. I enjoy my own space. I have friends and family in my life too. The issue is I never have run across any men that want the same. They are one of 2 ways: avoidant and try to force a fwb or situationship secret relationship or they want to be around me all the time. And after reading all the horrible things online men say about women, I see a huge lack of respect for women in general. And these men seem to not be intelligent at all, yet they think they are. They state that they want to lead in a relationship and I’m thinking, nobody is leading me anywhere, especially someone that seems not too bright. I am educated, have a stable job with great benefits, and I am very intelligent and I also am a genius at managing my own finances. At first I thought maybe I’m just a control freak, but no that’s not it. I have met too many men that are in debt and do not have stable employment or own their own home. The thought of someone not too bright trying to ‘lead’ me is not something I’m willing or interested in entertaining. So, after thinking about all this, I am thinking it would be extremely rare to meet a highly intelligent man that also is fiscally responsible like I am, and so I need to just hang it up and be done with dating or any kind of intimate relationship with a man. It’s disappointing it’s come to this, but not as disappointing as some low vibration guy trying to tell me what to do. I hate arguments. Has anyone else been in this place where I am finding myself and if so, how have you fared?

This is good news. The US has recognized it must move faster on drug approvals to effectively complete with China.

https://investor.assemblybio.com/news-releases/news-release-details/assembly-biosciences-exercises-us-profit-share-option-gilead-hsv

Based on the article, it can be inferred that Gilead may already have plans for Phase 3

1.This decision follows Assembly Bio’s receipt and review of Gilead’s complete development plan and budget for the program.

2.Under the development plan, GS-1179 is expected to advance into a Phase 2 clinical trial in participants with recurrent genital herpes by the end of 2026, with potential evaluation as part of a combination strategy with HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP)

https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/11269597

https://ops.opengrants.io/grants/aav-delivered-meganucleases-for-durable-control-of-genital-hsv-disease

It looks like they are no longer asking whether it works but to what capacity. If they can get rid of 97% of the latent reservoir for hsv1 in mice will that be enough or will the virus continue to replicate?

Others more familiar with the research please offer your educated perspectives as well.

“According to the EU Clinical Trials Information System (CTIS) record for trial 2024-516368-27-00 (IM-202), the ongoing European Phase 1b/2a clinical trial of IM-250 (adibelivir) for genital HSV-2 was updated twice in early August 2026. On August 4, regulators approved the addition of Estonia as a second trial country alongside Bulgaria, with 40 participants planned there and total planned enrollment rising to 232 people. Then, on August 6, the sponsor filed another administrative trial update called a non-substantial modification (NSM-8). CTIS does not publicly explain exactly what that second change involved, but the trial is still listed as authorized and recruiting, with no public indication of a suspension or safety-related halt.”

It appears that IM-250 trial is expanding to Estonia. I wonder what the other update might be.

Guys, I can't believe this, every time I search more I find more stuff in China that isn't being reported on and I can't find information on easily despite trying all day for months.

Apparently, according to several Chinese pharmaceutical news websites, including Pharmcube which is a reputable Chinese source, BDGene announced in April that they have initiated early IND enabling work for their Genital Herpes candidate, BD115.

BDGene is the same company which is developing a HSK gene therapy which was reported to have succeeded in clearing HSV from the ganglia and curing ocular herpes, though their HSK program BD111 remains in Phase 2 until the end of this year.

Interestingly, I can't find mentions of BD115 on BDGene's own website, however several Chinese news sources reported on it.

According to ChatGPT, BDGene has several active patents that describe a gene therapy against HSV. ChatGPT says and I quote

“According to BDGene’s HSV gene-therapy patent (CN115927473B / WO2024011980), the genital-herpes program believed to correspond to BD115 uses BDGene’s virus-like-particle delivery system to transiently deliver Cas9 mRNA and guide RNAs targeting the essential HSV genes UL52 and UL8. The goal is to cut and permanently disable HSV DNA rather than merely suppress viral replication while a drug is present. BDGene’s patent reports that this UL52/UL8 combination inhibited both HSV-1 and HSV-2 in laboratory experiments. According to PharmCube (医药魔方), April 2, 2026, BDGene’s genital-herpes candidate is called BD115 and had begun the IND application process, although an official CDE IND acceptance or human trial has not yet been publicly verified.”

Assembly Bio has 2 new helicase primase long acting drugs getting close to last trial phase as you can see on their pipeline, AB-5377 and AB-1179. I don’t really understand what the difference between the 2 drugs are, but both are for genital herpes. The good news is, notice on the last column on the right of both drugs: Gilead is already the partner which means there is money invested and they will be pushing to get these new meds rolled out to the public. They will be wanting to start making money on the investment they made. It also proves that both drugs are effective, because no big pharmaceutical financial backers will invest in something that’s mediocre. In fact, AB-5366 surpassed the goal that Assembly Bio has even made for themselves. 94% drop in shedding and outbreaks. That’s impressive. I know it’s not the cure yet, but these new helicase primase drugs will help us all to be more comfortable and I’m hoping the stigma will be reduced as well. Just putting this out there to give us all a little hope that things are happening.

This article just came out and explains how this new method using 2 different treatments can keep hsv in remission