BioInvent presents data indicating no development of resistance in HIV project
[2005-02-24 8:55]
Lund, Sweden: The results of laboratory experiments conducted at the Swedish Institute for Infectious Disease Control (SMI) and the Karolinska Institute with BioInvent´s drug candidate for the treatment of HIV infection were presented yesterday at the "12th Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections in Boston. The in vitro tests carried out show that the drug candidate did not allow resistance to develop after having inhibited the virus for 20 weeks. Under the same conditions another recently launched drug against HIV was also tested. Resistance to this drug developed after six weeks, which is in line with previous experiences.
BioInvent´s drug candidate is a human antibody selected from the Company´s antibody library,
n-CoDeR. The antibody binds to the Tat protein which is vital for HIV´s ability to replicate itself and spread to new cells. In laboratory tests, the antibody has been proved to neutralise Tat activity in such a way that it prevents the spread of the virus between human cells.
In the resistance tests that have now been published, attempts were made to provoke the development of resistance. HIV was allowed to replicate itself in human cells in the presence of the inhibiting antibody. Virus produced under these circumstances is transferred to new cells which in turn are infected. These transfers, or passages, are repeated a number of times in the presence of the inhibiting substance. The experiment continued for 20 weeks and no resistance developed. In a parallel experiment another drug launched recently was used for comparison. In line with previous results, resistance to this drug developed after just a few weeks.
The development of resistance is a major problem with all available treatments today. Because of HIV´s high degree of variability and adaptability, the virus usually changes rapidly and develops resistance to the treatment, rendering it ineffective. In the tests in question no such resistance developed despite the fact that the virus was exposed to the antibody for a long, continuous period of time.
The results obtained increase the likelihood that a drug can be developed with a more favourable resistance profile than those currently available.
Dr. Britta Wahren of the SMI commented as follows:
The results relating to BioInvent´s anti-Tat antibody are very interesting. In particular, the fact that the antibody is entirely human and that no resistance has been identified in in vitro tests indicates that this can potentially become a new class of drug for the treatment of HIV. Further tests will naturally determine whether the antibody maintains these properties - which seem so promising at this time - when it is tested in clinical trials."
The development of resistance is a major problem and to overcome it we need drugs with new mechanisms of action, says BioInvent´s President & CEO Svein Mathisen. If in future clinical programmes we can demonstrate the same effects that we have identified in our in vitro tests, we have the potential to develop a drug that can greatly reduce the risk of resistance... |
