Additional Presentations to be Made on PA-457 and Panacos' HIV Fusion Inhibitor Discovery Program
GAITHERSBURG, Md., June 17 /PRNewswire/ -- Panacos Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that it will present the results of a recently completed Phase 1 clinical trial of the first-in-class HIV Maturation Inhibitor, PA-457, at the International AIDS Conference in Bangkok, Thailand on July 14th. PA-457 disrupts HIV maturation, a new target for antiretroviral drug discovery that was recently identified by Panacos scientists. As a result of its 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. The increasing prevalence of these drug resistant HIV strains is a major problem for the treatment of HIV infection, driving the demand for the development of novel drugs like PA- 457.
In a single, escalating dose Phase 1 study in uninfected, healthy volunteers, PA-457 was well tolerated and exhibited favorable oral bioavailability and pharmacokinetics that support once daily oral administration. Detailed results will be provided by Dr. David E. Martin, Panacos' Vice President, Drug Development, in a presentation titled: "The In Vitro and In Vivo Disposition of PA-457, a Novel Inhibitor of HIV-1 Maturation" (Presentation #WePeA5644). The presentation will also include data from pre-clinical studies, which suggest that PA-457 should not be subject to drug-drug interactions when used in combination therapy with approved HIV drugs.
Panacos will make two additional presentations on PA-457 at the Conference. The first of these describes recent studies that help elucidate PA-457's antiviral target. The drug candidate specifically blocks a late step in processing of the viral Gag protein, namely conversion of the capsid precursor to mature capsid protein. Following PA-457 treatment, virus particles released from HIV-infected cells are non-infectious and virus replication is terminated. The Panacos presentation provides new data on specific amino acids in Gag that are implicated in PA-457's activity (Presentation #WeOrA1276; July 14). A third presentation on PA-457 describes how the drug potently inhibits HIV replication both in vitro and in an animal model of HIV infection (Presentation #WePeA5643; July 14).
Panacos will also present data on its fusion inhibitor program, describing the Company's recent success in identifying several novel small molecule inhibitors of HIV fusion to human cells. Orally bioavailable small molecule fusion inhibitors would offer considerable potential for the treatment of HIV infection, including viral strains resistant to currently approved drugs. Based on its proprietary high-throughput assay system for identification of small molecule fusion inhibitors, Panacos believes it has a leading position in the discovery of such compounds. The presentation will be made by Dr. Carl Wild, Panacos' Chief Science Officer (Presentation #WePeA5650; July 14).
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.
