Panacos releases new data on antiviral HIV drug PA-457

By Elaine Rigoli

Tampa, Fla., May 31 - Panacos Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced the results of a new study with PA-457, part of a new class of HIV drug candidates called Maturation Inhibitors that are designed to prevent the release of a key viral protein called Capsid from its precursor protein, Gag.

The new study concluded that PA-457 blocks release of Capsid only when Gag is in an assembled form, suggesting that the drug candidate's target has a specific three-dimensional conformation that is not present in unassembled Gag.

The work also indicates that no other viral proteins or human cellular components are required for PA-457 activity, according to a news release.

The study used a novel experimental system in which the HIV Gag protein assembles to form immature HIV viral core structures in a cell-free environment.

Under this system, PA-457's interaction with assembled Gag proteins can then be studied in the presence of HIV protease but in the absence of any other viral proteins or human cellular components, the release said.

Additional data in the study support the hypothesis that PA-457 binds directly to Gag at the junction of Capsid and SP-1, its adjacent protein in Gag.

Based in Watertown, Mass., Panacos develops anti-infective products through discovery and development of small molecule oral drugs for the treatment of HIV and other major human viral diseases.

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