May 09 2017
__________________________________________________________________________________
For the first time ever,
scientists have shown that it’s possible to reduce HIV reservoirs in
people living with HIV, thanks to a tiny anti-viral molecule patented by
ABIVAX called “ABX464.”
ABX464 was publicized as potentially inducing a functional cure in HIV-positive people. A first-in-class oral small anti-viral molecule, its most advanced compound recently finished Phase II clinical trials, where it was discovered to drastically reduce reservoirs acting as a storage space for HIV.
ABX464 was publicized as potentially inducing a functional cure in HIV-positive people. A first-in-class oral small anti-viral molecule, its most advanced compound recently finished Phase II clinical trials, where it was discovered to drastically reduce reservoirs acting as a storage space for HIV.
“We are excited to see this unique finding and are looking
forward to further studying ABX464 as we would like to determine,
through additional clinical trials, whether we can further increase the
magnitude of the effect on reducing HIV reservoirs to the lowest
possible level,” said Professor Bonaventura Clotet, principal
investigator in the study and director of the IrsiCaixa AIDS Research Institute at the University Hospital Germans Trias i Pujol in Badalona, Barcelona.
During the trial, 30 HIV-positive people were enrolled in Spain, Belgium, and France, after which they were randomized 3 to 1, most of them receiving ABX464 while the smaller group received a similar type of placebo, in addition to their current antiretroviral treatment for 28 days.
Once the 28 days were complete, researchers took blood samples from the participants to detect and measure HIV DNA in their peripheral blood mononuclear cells. This form of measurement has been a widely accepted biomarker for deterring the HIV reservoir.
A discovery like this is huge because, for untreated people living with HIV, total HIV DNA influences how rapid the virus will be spread (and how far). There is also a correlation between the pool of HIV DNA and the replication-competent reservoir, reports the European Pharmaceutical Review.
During the trial, researchers say they did not see an impact on the time to rebound after treatment interruption. The next step, then, would be to evaluate longer treatment duration with ABX464—and by that they mean longer than 28 days. This could lead to an even more profound reduction of the HIV reservoir, which could ultimately become part of an HIV cure.
“Currently approved drugs can effectively reduce and control the replication of the HIV virus in humans, allowing many patients to live with chronic treatment,” Dr. Jean-Marc Steens, chief medical officer at ABIVAX, said in a statement, “but no drugs have been able to eradicate the virus in humans because it evades therapy by hiding in what have been called by the scientific community ‘HIV reservoirs.’ These results in [HIV-positive people] are a first and very important step in supporting the hypothesis that ABX464 could impact the HIV reservoir.”
Read more articles from PLUS, here.
During the trial, 30 HIV-positive people were enrolled in Spain, Belgium, and France, after which they were randomized 3 to 1, most of them receiving ABX464 while the smaller group received a similar type of placebo, in addition to their current antiretroviral treatment for 28 days.
Once the 28 days were complete, researchers took blood samples from the participants to detect and measure HIV DNA in their peripheral blood mononuclear cells. This form of measurement has been a widely accepted biomarker for deterring the HIV reservoir.
A discovery like this is huge because, for untreated people living with HIV, total HIV DNA influences how rapid the virus will be spread (and how far). There is also a correlation between the pool of HIV DNA and the replication-competent reservoir, reports the European Pharmaceutical Review.
During the trial, researchers say they did not see an impact on the time to rebound after treatment interruption. The next step, then, would be to evaluate longer treatment duration with ABX464—and by that they mean longer than 28 days. This could lead to an even more profound reduction of the HIV reservoir, which could ultimately become part of an HIV cure.
“Currently approved drugs can effectively reduce and control the replication of the HIV virus in humans, allowing many patients to live with chronic treatment,” Dr. Jean-Marc Steens, chief medical officer at ABIVAX, said in a statement, “but no drugs have been able to eradicate the virus in humans because it evades therapy by hiding in what have been called by the scientific community ‘HIV reservoirs.’ These results in [HIV-positive people] are a first and very important step in supporting the hypothesis that ABX464 could impact the HIV reservoir.”
Read more articles from PLUS, here.
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