Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1998. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1998. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Reuters NewMedia, Inc.; Monday July 13, 11:22 am EST
Enzo said that this product has been developed to protect human immune cells against infection by a broad spectrum of strains of HIV-1 including its mutational variants.
The Phase I trials, which are designed to evaluate the safety of the product, will also provide insight on how to formulate and deliver this medicine in the most effective manner, Enzo said.
According to the company, HGTV43, if it proves as successful in human clinical trials as has been shown in laboratory studies, could free HIV-1 infected patients from the need for other medications, some of which have debilitating side effects.
Enzo said that in laboratory studies, the active genes cloned into HGTV43 had achieved between 92 percent and greater than 99 percent protection for human immune cells against HIV-1 infection.
"We have succeeded in developing a transducing vector that we believe is immunologically silent --- that does not produce any product that can be recognized as foreign to the body," said Dean Engelhardt, senior vice president, in a statement.
"Furthermore, we have successfully demonstrated that we can create in the laboratory setting human immune cells that are resistant to HIV-1 and maintain that resistance to the virus over a prolonged period," he said.
"Enzo's unique proprietary vector is expected to modify the immune cells with genetic antisense in such a manner that the cells should avoid cell destruction due to the normal surveillance properties of the body. This invention was critical for the long-term survival of the engineered cells and, therefore, is key to the effectiveness of the treatment," Engelhardt commented.
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