Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2000. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
PRNewswire - September 19, 2000
Michael J. Abrams, President and CEO of AnorMED Inc. said the new compound, AMD-8664, belongs to a new class of drugs, called entry inhibitors, that block HIV from infecting healthy cells. AMD-8664 has been shown in preclinical studies to be a potent blocker of the CXCR4 chemokine co-receptor that is used by HIV to enter and infect healthy T-cells.
Dr. Abrams said AMD-8664 exhibits potent inhibition of HIV infection in preclinical studies of both laboratory and clinical strains of HIV and, most importantly, it has also demonstrated good oral absorption properties in preclinical studies.
AnorMED's lead entry inhibitor is AMD-3100, now being evaluated in a Phase Ib/IIa dose escalation clinical trial with HIV patients. AMD-8664 attacks HIV by the same mechanism as AMD-3100 but has the additional potential to be administered orally.
Dr. Abrams said entry inhibitors are a promising potential new therapy for HIV. "There is a clear need for new anti-HIV therapies since the failure rate of HIV infected patients that are being treated by the current standard triple therapy is increasing due to several causes including resistance. To our knowledge AMD-3100, which is administered by injection, is the only compound in this novel class of chemokine co-receptor entry inhibitors that is currently in clinical trials".
"The fact that our chemokine receptor entry inhibitors are small synthetic molecules with pharmacologic properties amenable to improvement by medicinal chemistry modification has always been one of our advantages", said Dr. Abrams. "The data on AMD-8664 is an initial validation of that advantage. We have more potent analogs of this compound currently in preclinical studies and plan to progress an oral HIV entry inhibitor into clinical trials in 2001".
AnorMED specializes in the discovery and development of small molecule therapeutics for the treatment of a variety of diseases including cancer, HIV infection and inflammatory disease. AnorMED is focused on adding value to its drug leads and discoveries by aggressively advancing the most promising of these therapeutic agents to a point where the most favorable terms for corporate partnerships and licenses can be negotiated. AnorMED has three such agreements in place with AstraZeneca PLC of London, U.K., DuPont Pharmaceutical Company of Wilmington, Delaware, and Shire Pharmaceuticals Group plc of Andover, U.K. The Company has a number of product candidates in clinical trials including one in Phase III, two in Phase II and one in Phase I, as well as several other product candidates in preclinical development.
Note: Certain of the statements contained in this press release contain forward-looking statements which involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company, or industry results, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. The Company does not expect to update forward-looking statements continually as conditions change. Investors are referred to the full discussion of risk factors associated with the Company's business contained in the Company's Annual Information Form filed with securities regulatory authorities dated August 18, 2000.
SOURCE AnorMED Inc.
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