NanoViricides Drugs Found To Be Highly Effective Against Most Recent Strain of the H5N1 Avian Flu Virus
WEST HAVEN, Conn., May 07, 2007 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- NanoViricides, Inc. (Pink Sheets: NNVC) presented results of recent animal studies against rabies and BSL3 in vitro studies against a Clade 2 H5N1 (avian influenza) virus at the 23rd Annual Symposium of the Pan American Society for Clinical Virology in Tampa, FL, on Wednesday, May 2. (Pan American Society for Clinical Virology (PASCV): Clinical Virology Symposium)
The BSL3 studies against Clade 2 H5N1, a Dec. 2006 isolate in Vietnam, showed that the nanoviricide developed against Highly Pathogenic Influenzas, FluCide-HP (TM), was highly effective in suppressing cytopathic effects (CPE), whereas the broad-spectrum nanoviricide against all influenzas, FluCide(TM), was slightly less effective than AviFluCide-HP. These findings were expected. Both of these candidates were significantly more effective than oseltamivir (Tamiflu(R)) in this blind study performed by the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology (NIHE) scientists in Vietnam.
In addition, the antibody-fragment-based H5N1 specific (Clade 1, Vietnam, 2004-2005 strains) AviFluCide(TM) drug candidate was demonstrated conclusively by Vietnam scientists to significantly suppress CPE against this rgH5N1 strain (Clade 1), confirming previous results.
The Highly Pathogenic H5N1 subtype of influenza continues to rapidly evolve and is now found in two distinct subgroups, Clade 1 and Clade 2. According to CDC scientists, the Vietnam 2004/2005 strains belong to Clade 1, whereas the Indonesia 2006 (2007), Egypt 2006, and Vietnam 2006 (2007) strains are different and form the Clade 2 subgroup. The various Clade 2 strains are antigenically distinct from each other, but closer to each other than to Clade 1 strains.
"Highly Pathogenic Influenza strains of all clades possess the polybasic cleavage site. Thus FluCide-HP, designed against this site, is expected to be effective against all Highly Pathogenic influenza strains. It makes no difference to which type, subtype, or clade, they belong," said Anil R. Diwan, Ph.D., president of NanoViricides, Inc.
"We have shown that our drug candidates are the most effective drugs at present against even the newest subgroup of H5N1 viruses. Other companies continue to work on developing vaccines and drugs against the older Clade 1 H5N1 viruses, while we are working on the newest strains," said Eugene Seymour, MD, MPH, Chief Executive Officer of NanoViricides, Inc.
The Company plans to comment shortly on its in vitro/in vivo rabies studies.
About NanoViricides: nanoviricides.com |
