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Biotech / Medical : Agouron Pharmaceuticals (AGPH)

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To: tommysdad who wrote (2642)11/5/1997 1:59:00 PM
From: Timothy Kross   of 6136
 
Re: Viracept penetration across the blood brain barrier.

I have followed Viracept and became interested in a comparison to Vertex 141W94, a new "second generation" protease inhibitor. This new Vertex SBDD PI does offer itself as a PI that has excellent penetration into the central nervous system.
Whether it will prove superior to Viracept remains to be determined. The issue of CNS penetration became important to me because of the issue of whether the HIV virus will be able to proliferate in a body compartment that is free of exposure to the multiple drug cocktails that are being administered.

I called investor relations at Agouron to obtain information on CNS penetration of Viracept several weeks ago. They reported that there is no data on the CNS tissue levels for Viracept in humans. There is, however, information that Viracept is showing adequate CNS penetration in the rat model. A paper on this was sent to me.

Future work on this issue will be important . If there is a body compartment where the HIV virus can proliferate because of inadequate therapeutic levels of the various HIV drugs, then eventual full fledged drug resistance should be only a matter of time.

I have followed the Vertex thread loosely because I want to be fully informed about what the competition is offering up against Viracept. Scientific data on these issues will be important regarding the future value of Viracept in the open market. To date, I find nothing that threatens the lofty position that Viracept has obtained. Keeping ever vigilant, if anyone has information on these issues, then please share it with us.

Best regards,

TJK.
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