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Biotech / Medical : Procept (PRCT): 50% rise on high volume. Why? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Douglas who wrote (399)	6/3/1999 8:20:00 AM
From: Douglas	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 455

Procept gets mention in Playboy! LIFESTYLE DRUGS: WHAT'S AFTER VIAGRA? MICHAEL PARRISH 06/01/1999 Playboy THE RACE IS ON TO DEVELOP PILLS THAT WILL SATISFY YOUR EVERY NEED There's a big difference between being sick and not feeling your best. Doctors and pharmaceutical companies used to know the difference. If you were sick, they were there to help. If other aspects of your life weren't perfect, well, you should just learn to live with them. That type of thinking has gone the way of carbon paper and wine coolers. Today, drug manufacturers realize there's big money in curing things that aren't generally considered illnesses-such as baldness or shyness. Thanks to Viagra, they see the enormous profit potential in improving your sex life. The rush is on to develop lifestyle drugs- medications that help you achieve the life you feel you deserve. Whether you need better sex, more hair, less weight, an improved memory, a good night's sleep or some cheering up, there's a medication on the horizon for you. STD STOPPERS Why not find a way to thwart all obnoxious sexually transmitted diseases at once? Hitchcock is researching a simple solution-an STD killer called a topical microbicide. In its ideal form, this would be a tasteless, odorless, colorless substance that could be applied to the vagina. Without being noticed by either partner, the gel, cream or ointment would stop most STDs in their tracks. In theory, topical microbicides would be long-lasting, needing reapplication only every so often-for instance, when one changed lovers. One product in clinical trials is a suppository that contains good bacteria called lactobacillus. Lactobacillus in the vagina protects against some STDs, but it can also act as a carrier for other disease killers. "There's no reason that we couldn't add a whole cocktail of molecules to the lactobacillus," says Hitchcock. This product could be used by women at their discretion, to protect themselves without making an issue of it with their partners. The following microbicide products are being tested: Lactin-Vaginal: A lactobacillus suppository produced by GyneLogix, with encouragement from the National Institutes of Health. Lactin-Vaginal is being developed to protect women and their partners against HIV, gonorrhea and bacterial vaginosis, but not herpes. It would have to be reapplied with each new sexual partner. Women would test themselves every so often to see that the lactobacillus count is still sufficient. Men would have to depend on the conscientiousness of their partners. Pro 2000: A gel developed by Procept in Cambridge, Massachusetts as a contraceptive and a microbicide. In the lab, the gel worked against HIV and herpes II, as well as chlamydia. In 1997, in two tests on European women, the drug appeared to be safe. Testing among women in the U.S. and South Africa is scheduled to begin this year, supported by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Some of these women will already be infected with HIV, so the question will be whether Pro 2000 prevents viral transfer to a partner. Buffer Gel: A spermicidal microbicide in a lubricant, being tested as protection against STDs. It was developed by ReProtect, in Baltimore. Buffer Gel works by maintaining the naturally protective acidity of the vagina that can kill sperm and many STDs. Semen has an alkaline component that neutralizes that acidity and allows the sperm to swim to the egg. This lubricant blocks the semen's alkaline component, keeps the vagina's acidity intact and should keep sperm and STD organisms-including syphilis, gonorrhea, genital herpes and HIV-at bay. The first phase of clinical trials, at Brown University, has been completed and the next stage is expected to begin this year. Buffer Gel could be available as a contraceptive in about three years, and about a year later as an STD fighter. Plantibodies: ReProtect and another small research company, EPIcyte Pharmaceutical in San Diego, have joined to work on a contraceptive and disease-stopper-but using a different mechanism. Plantibodies are plant antibodies. Human genes are put into a plant, where they are reproduced and harvested. This method produces drugs a lot more cheaply than some current recombinant methods. Various plantibodies would cause sperm to clump together, limiting their motility, and also to stick to viruses and other pathogens to prevent them from entering cells. Clinical trials could begin next year, with an over-the-counter gel or lubricant available about four years later.