AEGiS-GMHC: Treatment Briefs: Still Looking for the Real GEM

Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1996. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.

Treatment Briefs: Still Looking for the Real GEM

GMHC Treatment Issues, Vol. 10, No. 4 - April 1996

A persuasive presentation at the 1993 International Conference on AIDS excited many about GEM 91, the first antisense drug targeted against HIV. Antisense compounds are synthetic segments of nucleic acid that bind to viral genetic material and disrupt the viral life cycle at multiple points. In the lab, GEM 91 blocks HIV when the virus infects new cells, when the cell's machinery is commandeered to produce viral protein, and when complete HIV gene sets are transcribed and packaged in new virions.

Clinical trials reported last September (Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy abstract I86) dampened the excitement. They found that the body breaks down GEM 91 too quickly for it to reach effective concentrations in people. Despite two-week continuous infusions, volunteers received no benefit.

Hybridon, Inc., GEM 91's developer, now has a new concentrated formulation that is administered as a subcutaneous or intramuscular injection. A French phase I study of the improved GEM 91 is scheduled for this month, and an AZT/GEM 91 drug interaction study will begin soon afterwards in Britain.

960401
GM100409

Copyright © 1996 - Treatment Issues. Reproduced with permission. Treatment Issues is published twelve times yearly by GMHC, Inc. All rights reserved. Noncommercial reproduction is encouraged. Subscription lists are kept confidential. GMHC Treatment Issues, The Tisch Building, 119 West 24th Street, New York, NY 10011 fredg@gmhc.org http://www.gmhc.org

AEGiS is made possible through unrestricted grants from Boehringer Ingelheim, Elton John AIDS Foundation, iMetrikus, Inc., John M. Lloyd Foundation, the National Library of Medicine, and donations from users like you. Always watch for outdated information. This article first appeared in 2003. This material is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between you and your doctor.

AEGiS presents published material, reprinted with permission and neither endorses nor opposes any material. All information contained on this website, including information relating to health conditions, products, and treatments, is for informational purposes only. It is often presented in summary or aggregate form. It is not meant to be a substitute for the advice provided by your own physician or other medical professionals. Always discuss treatment options with a doctor who specializes in treating HIV.

Copyright ©1980, 2003. AEGiS. All materials appearing on AEGiS are protected by copyright as a collective work or compilation under U.S. copyright and other laws and are the property of AEGiS, or the party credited as the provider of the content. .