GAITHERSBURG, Md., June 4 /PRNewswire/ -- Panacos Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today presents its latest findings on the mechanism of action of PA-457, the Company's lead HIV drug candidate, which is the first in a new class of oral antiretroviral drugs called Maturation Inhibitors. In an invited presentation at the 13th International Symposium on HIV & Emerging Infectious Diseases in Toulon, France, the Company provides an update on PA-457, including progress in understanding the compound's viral target.
Carl Wild, Ph.D., Panacos' Chief Science Officer and speaker at the conference said: "PA-457 potently inhibits HIV replication by specifically blocking a late step in processing of the viral Gag protein, namely conversion of the capsid precursor to mature capsid protein. As a result, newly released viral particles are defective and non-infectious. Consistent with this novel mechanism of action, PA-457 retains activity against virus isolates resistant to the currently approved classes of HIV therapeutics including reverse transcriptase inhibitors and protease inhibitors."
At the conference, Dr. Wild discusses recent experiments designed to further elucidate PA-457's molecular target. These studies demonstrated that the determinants of PA-457 activity reside in specific amino acid residues in the HIV Gag protein that flank the cleavage site between the capsid protein and a linker protein called SP1, thus helping to explain how PA-457 inhibits the formation of mature capsid protein. The new results allow Panacos to continue building a strong proprietary position around the PA-457 target, which forms the basis for the Company's maturation inhibitor discovery platform.
Panacos recently completed the first human clinical trial of PA-457. Following single dose oral administration to uninfected, healthy volunteers, PA-457 was well tolerated and exhibited favorable oral bioavailability and pharmacokinetics. Based on these promising results, Panacos has now progressed the compound into a multiple dose Phase 1 study to examine the safety and pharmacokinetics of PA-457 when administered as a daily oral dose to healthy, uninfected subjects for 10 days. The Company anticipates testing the antiviral potency of PA-457 in HIV-infected individuals later this year.
On June 2, 2004, Panacos Pharmaceuticals entered into a definitive merger agreement with V.I. Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq: VITX), a biotechnology company dedicated to developing novel anti-infective technologies. The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2004 and is subject to the approval by shareholders of both companies and other customary closing conditions.
Panacos Pharmaceuticals is engaged in the discovery and development of small molecule, orally available drugs for the treatment of HIV and other major human viral diseases. The Company's proprietary discovery technologies focus on novel targets in the virus life cycle, including virus fusion and virus maturation, the first and last steps of viral infection.
For more information on Panacos Pharmaceuticals, please visit http://www.panacos.com, or email: info@panacos.com.
SOURCE Panacos Pharmaceuticals, Inc.