Panacos scientists identify HIV fusion inhibitors; bevirimat safe during pregnancy

By Elaine Rigoli

Tampa, Fla., Aug. 14 - Panacos Pharmaceuticals, Inc. said Monday that it will present an update on its HIV fusion inhibitor program at the 16th International AIDS Conference in Toronto to describe its successful use of a proprietary high-throughput screening assay to identify HIV fusion inhibitors.

Fusion of the HIV virion with the human cell is one of the earliest steps in the HIV life cycle.

Panacos said its test identifies compounds that inhibit this process by blocking conformational changes, or alterations in molecular shape, in the HIV surface proteins that drive the fusion process.

Using this approach, Panacos said its scientists have identified several structurally distinct families of small molecules that specifically inhibit HIV-1 infection with very high (nanomolar) potency.

Animal studies have shown that several of these compounds are orally bioavailable, the company explained in a news release.

Panacos confirmed the mechanism of action of these compounds in additional functional assays. These experiments indicate that Panacos' fusion inhibitors have a unique molecular target within the viral surface proteins, distinct from that of Fuzeon. This is consistent with the finding that the company's compounds have activity against most Fuzeon-resistant HIV strains, a characteristic which may provide additional clinical utility, the release said.

In other news, the company said recently completed preclinical studies indicate that bevirimat is non-teratogenic, meaning it did not cause fetal malformations in the models used in the studies.

"The findings of this study indicate that bevirimat would not be expected to cause teratogenic effects when used to treat pregnant women. This suggests that, unlike some marketed HIV drugs, the use of bevirimat may not be limited in pregnant women or women of childbearing age, two very important and growing segments of the HIV population. This study confirms our belief that bevirimat may be a drug with very broad utility in patients with HIV," president and chief operating officer Graham Allaway said in the release.

Panacos is a biotechnology company located in Watertown, Mass.

© 2015 Prospect News.
All content on this website is protected by copyright law in the U.S. and elsewhere. For the use of the person downloading only.
Redistribution and copying are prohibited by law without written permission in advance from Prospect News.
Redistribution or copying includes e-mailing, printing multiple copies or any other form of reproduction.