Vanderbilt University, Brigham Young University, and
Ceragenix Pharmaceuticals Report Novel Drug Compound Kills
Multiple HIV Strains; Synthetic Small Molecule Acts Through
Unique Strain-Independent Virucidal Mechanism
NASHVILLE, Tenn. & PROVO, Utah & DENVER
Feb 6, 2006
Vanderbilt University, Brigham Young University and Ceragenix
Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that one of a family of
compounds, called Ceragenins (or CSAs) shows potent virucidal
activity in in vitro laboratory tests against multiple strains
of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), the virus that causes
AIDS.
CSAs were invented by Dr. Paul D. Savage of Brigham Young
University's Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and
exclusively licensed to Ceragenix. In data previously presented
by Dr. Savage and other researchers, CSAs have been shown to
have broad spectrum antibacterial activity. Dr. Derya Unutmaz,
Associate Professor of Microbiology and Immunology at the
Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, tested several CSAs in
his laboratory for their ability to kill HIV directly.
"We found that CSA-54 potently inhibits HIV infection of
primary human CD4+ T cells, the virus's in vivo targets, and was
not toxic to epithelial cells at concentrations significantly
higher than those required to kill the virus," stated Dr.
Unutmaz. "In addition, CSA-54 killed a wide range of HIV
isolates, and completely blocked genetically engineered HIV that
enters the cells independent of the cell surface receptor the
virus normally uses. This finding indicates that CSA-54 likely
attacks the viral membrane and disrupts the virus from
interacting with its target cells, similar to some of the known
microbicidal peptides. This is particularly important as a
compound that targets the viral membrane is likely to be
effective against all strains of the virus, regardless of
mutations as the viral membrane remains unchanged."
"We are encouraged, based on these early in vitro studies, that
CSAs may provide a completely unique family of anti-infectives,
potentially active against a wide range of viral, fungal, and
bacterial targets, including those resistant to current
therapies," stated Steven Porter, CEO of Ceragenix. "Given the
potent activity of CSA-54 against all strains of HIV tested, we
plan on exploring the use of this compound in both topical and
systemic applications for HIV therapy."
Read the rest of this historical press release at www.CSA54.info
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