HIVcide

[Hellraiser]

I pulled this from John's research thread...

What is this exactly and why have I never heard of it before?

http://news.moneycentral.msn.com/provider/providerarticle.aspx?feed=BW&date=20100125&id=11053187


2500% more effective than HAART, but hasn't been tested in humans yet.

It also seems to be effective against a lot of other viruses as well not just HIV.

Thoughts?

[Inchlingblue]

There was a thread about this in September 2009. I think this is very promising and I wish they'd fast track it. If this works, it would be considered a functional cure.

Basically this is how it works:

Dr. Diwan described the salient features of nanoviricides technology. "Viruses can be fooled," he said, adding, "We use their own smarts to attack them. The site at which a virus binds to the cell surface never changes, no matter how much the virus itself changes. We mimic this site, and the cell surface, so the virus particle can bind to the nanoviricide thinking it is binding to a cell. We anticipate very little escape mutation problem, if we do this successfully."

LINK:

http://forums.poz.com/index.php?topic=28986.0

[xman]

I wouldn't hold the breath for this one. They are actually in early preclinical studies and human trials aren't even planned. I recommend to focus on something else.

[Inchlingblue]

I wouldn't hold the breath for this one. They are actually in early preclinical studies and human trials aren't even planned. I recommend to focus on something else.

They're in advanced preclinical, not early preclinical. And the money they just raised should allow them to move forward.

NanoViricides, Inc. currently has two drug candidates at advanced stages of preclinical development.

LINK:

http://www.foxbusiness.com/story/markets/industries/health-care/nanoviricides-announces-major-shareholder-completed-programmed-sale/

They recently were invited to present at the Biotech Showcase Conference in San Francisco.

LINK:

http://www.tradingmarkets.com/news/press-release/nnvc_nnvce_nanoviricides-invited-to-present-at-the-biotech-showcase-conference-in-san-francisco-693492.html

[xman]

Early or not it still has a long way to go. What works in animals could not work on humans. Also we need to know if it is safe.

Human trials generally need at least 8 years to be completed. Beeing optimistic if they archieve the first safety trials in 2011 they will go well beyond 2020. For all those newly diagnosed and for those on treatment with a few options left, I really hope something else will pan out earlier than this one.

[Inchlingblue]

Early or not it still has a long way to go. What works in animals could not work on humans. Also we need to know if it is safe.

Yes, but this looks promising:

HIVCide(TM) was found to be more than twenty-five times (25X or 2,500%) superior to the entire three drug HAART cocktail in a standard SCID-Hu mouse model study. The mice were treated with only 150 mg/kg of nanoviricides and this treatment both led to improvement in double-positive CD4+/CD8+ T cells and reduction in HIV-1 viral load that was equal to or slightly better than that in HAART-treated mice. The HAART treated mice received a total drug load of 4,200 mg/kg, indicating superior results with HIVCide. Moreover, HAART cocktail caused significant toxic effects, whereas the nanoviricides produced no clinical adverse signs in this study.

LINK:

http://webboard.aegis.org/WB/threadview.aspx?threadid=1913&fid=15&boardid=2

[Hellraiser]

I actually tried to look up some standard time frames for human clinical trials, but couldn't find anything concrete.  I could swear that for certain drugs they had relaxed the timeframe to 5 years?  Specifically I remember hearing this in regards to Breast Cancer or Ovarian Cancer drugs in particular.

[John2038]

I guess I should ask for royalties (http://forums.poz.com/index.php?topic=17612.msg223319#msg223319)

Humbly, John 

[Inchlingblue]

I guess I should ask for royalties (http://forums.poz.com/index.php?topic=17612.msg223319#msg223319)

Humbly, John 

Yes, John, this is the same MOA. Makes a lot of sense, this approach.

[Hellraiser]

The only thing I'm curious about is...

1) How much of this stuff would it take to make a difference in someone who is already at a very high viral load?

2) How frequently would you need this stuff?  I'm assuming it would given intraveinously.

3) How would your body rid itself of the HIVcide...through the spleen/kidneys?

[Inchlingblue]

I actually tried to look up some standard time frames for human clinical trials, but couldn't find anything concrete.  I could swear that for certain drugs they had relaxed the timeframe to 5 years?  Specifically I remember hearing this in regards to Breast Cancer or Ovarian Cancer drugs in particular.

This thread has some info on FDA approval process:

http://forums.poz.com/index.php?topic=28494.0

[John2038]

Hellraiser,

at this stage, I guess there are no answers to your questions.

But we can hopes that the HIVCide-I will act as a sponge, able to collect the residual viremia existing despite being UD for e.g. Maybe the end of the resistance then, the emergence of the monotherapies and so.

If it can reach the GALT, others latent reservoirs and the brain (as body cells does), we can hopes great benefits here as well: Ultimately, the purge of the latent reservoirs after few years or maybe (much) less, but this is far to early to even dream about it.

More reasonably, such treatment may become helpful in allowing STIs (as it seems to work independently of the mutations and strains), and as such, a way to lower the drug's side effects and toxicities.

Few personal thoughts, nothing real. All testing remaining to be done. At least, the HAART is not the only approach considered today, and this is the good news we can already enjoy.