AGOURON REPORTS RESULTS FROM PRECLINICAL TESTING OF COMPOUND FOR TREATMENT OF COMMON COLD VIRUS
For Release at 8:00 p.m. EST on September 26, 1998
LA JOLLA, Calif., September 26, 1998 — Agouron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq NM: AGPH) reported favorable results from preclinical studies of its compound AG7088 targeting human rhinovirus, the most frequent cause of the common cold. Scientists reported these findings at the 38th Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (ICAAC) in San Diego.
AG7088, an inhibitor of the rhinovirus 3C protease enzyme, was reported to potently inhibit viral replication of all tested serotypes (46/46) of rhinovirus and to have a broad spectrum of antiviral activity superior to those of other anti-rhinoviral agents which act by an alternate mechanism. In addition, AG7088 proved effective in inhibiting the replication in vitro of several other medically important viruses related to rhinovirus, including coxsackieviruses A21 and B3, as well as enterovirus 70 and echovirus 11.
Infection of human bronchial epithelial cells with rhinovirus resulted in elevated production of the inflammatory cytokines IL-6 and IL-8 thought to be responsible for some of the clinical symptoms of the common cold. Treatment of infected cells with AG7088 not only caused substantial reduction in infectious virus released by the cells, but also caused a significant decrease in levels of IL-6 and IL-8, even when AG7088 was added after infection. These results suggest that AG7088 has the potential to block replication of rhinovirus and to diminish clinical manifestations of rhinovirus infections.
Rhinovirus infections are associated with exacerbations of certain chronic respiratory diseases, such as asthma, emphysema and chronic bronchitis affecting more than twenty million Americans. Rhinovirus is a member of the Picornaviridae family of viruses, linked with such other important diseases as aseptic meningitis, conjunctivitis and encephalitis. Agouron plans to initiate human clinical studies of AG7088 later this year.
Agouron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is an integrated pharmaceutical company committed to the discovery, development, manufacturing, and marketing of innovative therapeutic products engineered to inactivate proteins that play key roles in cancer, AIDS, and other serious diseases.
This press release may contain forward-looking statements or predictions. These statements represent our judgment as of this date and are subject to risks and uncertainties (including those associated with regulatory approvals and the impact of competitive products) that could cause the actual results to differ materially. Important factors concerning these risks are discussed in our Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended June 30, 1998 currently on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Agouron undertakes no obligation to publicly release the result of any revisions to such forward-looking statements which may be made to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. |
